What Meets the Eye
by Metella
Summary: An in-depth examination of ATLA. Ty Lee meets Azula's targets: complete strangers, yet their auras glow invitingly, their positive chi drawing her like a magnet. She finds many things in common with two of them. Kataang, TyLokka, sibling!Toko
1. Omashu

**_This is my take on the Avatarverse, meant to comment on the plot and expand on the world. And although it is heavily based on canon, this is NOT just a "stick Ty Lee into the Gaang, put her with Sokka, and everything else that happens is the same" story._**

**_I also address some questions like:_**

**_"How did Zhao get the identity of the Moon and Ocean Spirits from Wan Shi Tong?"_**

**_"What happened during Iroh's journey to the Spirit World?"_**

**_"Why is Jeong Jeong's philosophy of Fire so different from the dragons'?"_**

**_"Why did Hama not rescue any of the other waterbenders from the Southern Tribe when she escaped?"_**

**_"Um . . . . . Ursa?" _**

**_"And what th_****_e HECK is up with the Avatar State? Smash your back into a_ rock _and suddenly you're_ spiritually enlightened_?"_**

**_To name a few. And Toph. I've always felt that her story was very unresolved. I've written a series of oneshots about her (called Chronicles of the Blind Bandit) and this retelling will put a bit of focus on fleshing her out as well. This is Toko, though in the timeframe of the show, their relationship will NOT be romantic, for age difference reasons._**

**_Oh, and Yue makes a few appearances as a Spirit, for fans of her. ;) Now that I think about it, anyone who enjoys Sokka/Yue will probably appreciate this as well._**

**_I hope you like my interpretation of Ty Lee. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! I thrive on well-thought out reviews. Much thanks to my betas,_**** _OmniSchreiber and JESUSFREAK-And-Proud-Of-It! *hugs them*_ I am ALWAYS willing to take on another Sifu, too, if anyone is interested!**

**_Also, please bear with me these first two chapters. To offset their copy-and-paste nature, I worked to insert things that you 'didn't' see happening behind or between the scenes._**

**_And at the end, it might be very helpful to recall a certain quote from a very infamous brown and black lion. ;)  
_**

**What Meets the Eye**

"I'm really happy here. I mean, my aura has never been pinker." –Ty Lee

**Chapter 1: Omashu**

_Ty Lee,_

_Princess Azula gave me your address today._ _How could you just run off like that? You didn't tell any of us when you were leaving? Lin is absolutely heartbroken. You didn't even ask me for any money. Are you doing all right, Ty? Please write back._

_Your Loving Sister,_

_Weici_

l

_Dear Weici,_

_I'm so, so sorry. You know why I wanted to leave, though, Wei! I just didn't tell you when I was going because I don't think I would have been able to go through with it if all of you got upset beforehand. You wouldn't believe it here! There are people that have been everywhere! All the way from the Great Divide to the Batola Mountain Range, and the ringmaster says we're going to be skirting the Si Wong for the next season. There's this girl who's been showing me around, she's a colonial and she juggles fire but she says she's never had real lessons or anything because her family couldn't afford it. And guess what? I have to buy my own food sometimes! Can you imagine? I mean, I knew I'd have to dress and do my own makeup and stuff, but sometimes I have to cook too! This really nice old lady who reads fortunes- she reminds me a lot of Auntie Ryu- she showed me what to buy at the market and how to haggle . . ._

The stream-of-consciousness litany went on for several pages, describing her first days at the circus.

At the end, it was signed,

_Lots of Love,_

_Ty Lee_

l

_Dearest Ty Lee,_

_I'm glad to hear you're settling in so well. Remember, you really must make an effort to remember peoples' names- I know you're being sweet, but it would be extra nice if you did them that courtesy. I'm sure it will be like the first day at school- you'll get them gradually. Please be careful, too! I'm glad you like it there, but stay on your toes, it can be dangerous! But what am I saying? You'll be perfectly fine. You did teach Yunru and Meili chi blocking better than that instructor did. Ha, little sister, my servants have tried to teach me a thing or two about cooking, but mostly I think you'll just have to fend for yourself. Any advice I give is likely to bring you more trouble than good. I've passed your letter along to everyone, and I must say some of them quite liked the descriptions of the lemurs! And I'm sending money, I always will, when I can! We'll all be rooting for you. Good luck and best wishes from the Capitol. My husband sends his regards as well._

_Your Loving Sister,_

_Weici_

* * *

"Ty Lee, could that _possibly_ be you?"

"Azula!" Ty Lee gracefully bent out of her handstand and twirled into a prostrate position. After observing the formality she rushed up to her old friend and hugged her. "It's so good to see you!" How long had it been? They had graduated in the early summer, and it was early spring now. It had been almost two years. She wondered why Azula hadn't told her she was coming.

"Please, don't let me interrupt your-" the firebender raised an eyebrow- "_whatever_ it is you were doing."

Ty Lee languidly flipped over backwards and resumed her yoga exercises, observing the fire princess's beige aura- she _was_ always the one to like _order_.

"Tell me, what is the daughter of a nobleman doing here? Certainly our parents didn't send us to the Royal Academy For Girls to end up in-" Azula glanced disdainfully around at the shabby disarray that made up the furnishings of the traveling circus and spotted a platypus bear being manhandled by three attendants- "places like _this_."

It just wasn't 'fitting.' That's why the beige had appeared- it was her inability to understand. Ty Lee saw her own aura fade slightly and she frowned.

"I have a proposition for you." Azula said casually as she examined her nails. "I'm hunting a traitor. You remember my old fuddy duddy uncle, don't you?"

"Oh yeah." Ty Lee smiled warmly, remembering the old man's serene blue halo. "He was so _funny_."

"I would be _honored_ if you would join me on my mission." Azula told her.

"Oh. I uh- would love to-" Ty Lee's silver eyes nervously flitted around and she once again flipped to her feet. "But the truth is, I'm really happy here. I mean- my aura has _never_ been _pinker_." She gave a wide smile and her pink's intensity momentarily increased, thinking of all her fans. The traveling show wasn't luxurious, it wasn't extravagant, but she had honestly made it her home.

"Well," Azula sighed, "I wouldn't want you to give up the life you love just to please me."

Ty Lee could immediately tell she was lying. The tan surrounding her had, predictably, turned to orange.

Ty Lee inclined her head in a small bow, trying to infuse all the quiet gratitude she could into her few words, hoping that Azula would change her mind, but knowing that she wouldn't. "Thank you, Azula."

She pulled one of her feet in a vertical position above her head as Azula walked away.

"Of course," Azula said over her shoulder, "before I leave, I'm going to catch your show."

Ty Lee flinched. She didn't have to turn around to know that the _orange_ around the princess had flared menacingly. The color of control.

"Uh, yeah, sure, of course." Ty Lee didn't react fast enough to mask the uncertainty in her voice.

* * *

"We are deeply honored to have the Fire Lord's daughter at our _humble_ circus." The ringmaster proclaimed.

"Deeply honored, and deeply frightened." Ty Lee muttered under her breath as she balanced on one hand. The man's smoky gray aura, which extended a good three feet out from his body, was visible even from where she was.

"Tell us if there's anything we can do to make the show more enjoyable." He told the Fire Nation princess.

Ty Lee couldn't hear what they were saying next, but it couldn't be anything good. Azula's orange had gained a shade of red, and the ringmaster's gray aura was gradually adopting a sickly green hue, his fear for himself battling with his fear for his performer.

Ty Lee started to sweat when he caught the net on fire. Then all hell broke loose. What was she _thinking_, letting out all of those animals? The red of their auras mingled with the red of the tent, and Ty Lee felt like she was going to faint- the negative energy was more oppressive than the heat. She wobbled precariously on the tightrope.

A vulture griffin roosted on the near platform. Its feathers were raised, muscles tensed, wings half-cocked, as it looked down at the din below with a bald head. His tail twitched erratically from side to side. It was obviously distressed, but its aura was a very diluted red, which meant there was a great deal of fear, not pure aggression. Maybe it would remember her?

She unfocused her eyes and turned her attention to her own aura. Blue. She thought. She had to shut all this out. Pure, sky blue. She searched for her point of balance on the tightrope: her own center of gravity was very familiar, like a long-time friend (or rather, like a friend that _wasn't_ trying to threaten her). Once she centered her body, the connection to her mind ran straight as an arrow. This was just another lesson, no different than all the exercises she practiced. "Can you trust me, big fella?"

She bent her arm and launched herself off of the wooden conflagration that she was balancing on, and it tumbled down into the burning net.

She deftly caught the tightrope and swung herself into a squatting position, two hands and two feet firmly planted on the wire. Any other performer wouldn't have dared to leap _towards_ a vulture griffin with such suddenness, but because she had effectively "told" it she meant no harm, it simply turned its sunken neck toward her instead of attacking in surprise.

She stood and tiptoed the rest of the way to the beast. "You really _are_ ugly." She whispered with a mischievous smile and a chuckle. "But you have a heart of gold." She rested her hand on the white feathery shoulder. "Actually, an aura of blue, but who's counting?" The creature's aura had taken on her color. Its feathers had relaxed, and its wings were now completely folded, despite the turmoil below.

* * *

Ty Lee sat in her dressing room waiting for Azula. She usually felt like examining her immaculate appearance in the mirror, but tonight she had to compose herself, and all her thoughts were turned inward. Hers was a delicate balance between vanity and spirituality.

"What an _exquisite_ performance." Azula pronounced from the doorway.

_Performance?_ She shook her head mentally. The rest of the night had consisted of the acrobat and various handlers rounding up the animals Azula had let out.

The princess tossed a bouquet of expensive black flowers onto a table as she entered. The beautiful blooms were as good as a thrown gauntlet, as if daring the acrobat to resist her will. "I can't _wait_ to see how you'll top yourself tomorrow," she said, still playing the game.

"I'm sorry, Azula, but unfortunately there won't be a show tomorrow." Ty Lee said with practiced calm.

"Really?"

"The universe is giving me strong hints- that it's time for a career change." She placed her ornamental crown on its hook and turned to face Azula. "I want to join you on your mission." Ty Lee lied.

* * *

"So you have to leave, just like that?"

"I have two hours to pack before the ship sets off." Ty Lee answered the familiar voice softly without turning around as she picked around her small room half-heartedly.

The girl now standing in the doorway was a good deal older and taller than Azula. Her tan skin tone clearly marked her as a commoner- not because all nobles were pale but because she had obviously gained many of her freckles from spending long days working out in the sun. "Well, you did tell me you were friends with the princess, but to be honest, I didn't really believe you."

"That's okay." Ty Lee said.

"So is it true? That she can make blue flames?" The juggler raised a hand and looked into her own fire speculatively.

"Yeah."

The other girl whistled appreciatively. "Not even the Firelord has figured out how she does it?"

Ty Lee shook her head. She opened a drawer and pulled out a small sheaf of papers, folding them up in a binder and stowing it in her growing package. There had been three handwritten copies of the letter she sent her sister two years ago.

The top of the sheaf read:

_Sounds interesting there, Ty! I would have come with you just because of that but sleeping in a room that's ten by ten square doesn't sound too fun at all, or having to move every few weeks. Do you really not have a bath, only showers? How can you stand that? And you have to make your own food? And walk everywhere? (if you're even in a town worth exploring, that is) Will you miss the carriage rides? Plus I've heard it gets ridiculously cold some of the places you're going. Try to write me every once in a while so I don't have to immolate myself out of boredom, please._

Separated from the rest of the letters were short, direct notes, with a royal seal, which had been repeated identically several times over.

_Ty Lee, are keeping up with your combat training?_

"You know, the ringmaster is going to start treating the animals the way he did before once you're gone. I think old Susa and the like are pretty safe." She tagged off the name of the ancient and docile elephant mandrill, "but Yenu? Or Irako? They're in for it."

Ty Lee sighed. "Irako has improved a lot, though," she responded, talking about the vulture lion she had calmed. As she had gradually learned, the ringmaster was cruel, there was no doubt about it. He worked the people almost as hard as the animals. Acts had to be perfect and polished- unless they of course, included animals- then they were praised if they were daring and impromptu. Despite the effort he put into giving the circus a glamorous front, he made shady deals- rumor was that he would even trade with the likes of**sandbenders** if they had a bargain he was interested in. He took in people from all backgrounds, treatment weighing on whether he thought you were a "real" Fire Nation citizen or not. Had you lived in the homeland? Had you served in the army? Were you of noble blood? He paid wages in order of rank- those from the highest-up families got the most money. Ty Lee had realized somewhere in the middle of her first year that she was not taking the brunt of his abuse.

"Hey, by the way, thanks." The girl said quietly. "For everything." She pulled out a sack full of coins and thumbed through them. "You're sure you don't want any of it back?"

Ty Lee smiled and hugged her. "Absolutely, Rila."

* * *

The agile girl moved about the deck of the ship flat-footed, which was unusual for her. She normally took dainty steps, but on the sea her finely tuned balance was thrown off slightly. Her poise was so _natural_ when the ground under her was solid and unmoving. She began to miss her 'old friend,' her center of gravity. But Azula had promised that they would be traveling by land after they arrived at their destination. The Fire Nation circus the princess had retrieved the acrobat from traveled throughout the Earth Kingdom colonies. Therefore, setting out from a southern inlet near Gaoling and now rounding the peninsula of Chin Village, it wouldn't take long to get to the newly captured Omashu.

"Mai's father has been appointed governor. I doubt his competence, however." Azula rolled her eyes as they made their way down a corridor towards the deck. "Father always said we ran out of good administrative material with the expansion of territory on the Acjan region. They have to be the smartest and the toughest to deal with Fong to the southwest." She shook her head. "It is simply_unbelievable _that man can hold a base so close to the Fire Nation. Needless to say, Omashu is still a pretty dangerous place too, with all the rabid Earth Kingdom scum around- I'll bet old 'Governor' Tont isn't complaining about Mai's skills _now._"

l

_Instead of sending Mai to live in student housing at the boarding school, her parents moved to the Capitol with her, into a second house that, by its proximity to the palace itself, proclaimed their high status. Ty Lee thought it was sweet that they would do that for their daughter, but the other seven-year-old quickly tried to put a damper on her enthusiasm._

_"They only did it to keep an eye on me." Mai pointed out sourly under her breath on the way to Arithmetic one day._

_"Oh, I'm sure that's not right, Mai!" Ty Lee gabbed. "Cheer up! You have a house all to yourself!" she exclaimed excitedly. She had never had anything completely to herself- even here she saw her three of elder sisters regularly between classes. This was the first time she had gotten any separation from them at all. Throughout her first grades the little girl would be torn between freedom from suffocation she had left behind and uncomfortable exposure to the unfamiliar in school. Sometimes she sought out her older siblings for advice, or to just have a little piece of home again. Sometimes she reveled in being apart. Sure, she loved them; her roommate back at the dorms was nice too. But the idea of living by yourself was fascinating to her. "Can I come over?"_

_"I guess." Mai sighed._

_Of course, once they had made friends with Azula, Mai's abode paled in comparison. One of the few times they did go to Mai's house after that, it was a matter of business. You see, when Mai revealed her unique hobby, initiated at the palace, her parents disapproved at once. Shuriken were not something to be handled by noble lady._

_But a visit from the princess herself quickly changed the political sycophants' opinion._

l

"So 'Zula, this is your first time out of the Fire Nation?" Ty Lee asked.

"Yes. Makes me want to go crawl home and take a good scrub, the people here." Azula replied dryly.

Ty Lee giggled. "Oh, they're not that bad."

l

_"So you're an earthbender?" Ty Lee asked the middle-aged man. "Nice to meet you."_

_His hand jerked and he dropped the pole he was in the middle of putting up. "Shhhhhh!" He put a finger to his lips and waved the other hand to silence her. "How'd you know that?" He looked around nervously as he bent over to pick it up again and prop up the sagging canvas overhang. "I d-don't even look like a- you know." It was true. The tent-pitcher didn't have the stereotypical build. He was lanky and wiry-muscled, not thickly set. "You're that new girl, right? On the tightrope? Who told you? Who knows?"_

_"It's in your chi," she explained. She could sense its movement in people: that was the reason she was so gifted in Kyusho Jutsu, chi blocking. "My jutsu sifu told me that earthbenders-"_

_"Stop saying that word!" He hissed, cutting her off._

_"Why?"_

_"It's- just listen, you can't tell anyone all right?"_

_"Why?"_

_"'Cause if word got to the ringmaster he'd kick me out."_

_"Why?"_

_"'Cause-" he gave an frustrated breath at her pestering repeats- "'cause he just would, okay? And I don't want to stir up trouble, I swear, I just want to do my job."_

_"Okay."_

_"Thanks- um . . .?"_

_"Ty Lee."_

_"Ty Lee. I'm Poshu."_

l

"So how have you and Mai been, Azula?"

"All right, I suppose. I've been training, commanding and drilling ranks of internal troops." She shrugged. "Mai hasn't moved back out of the Capitol, until now that is. You got news about that tour she took of her uncle's prison."

Ty Lee giggled. "She told me. I bet that took some talking to her parents as well."

The princess rolled her eyes. "Yeah." She put on a mocking tone, "'That's no place for a _lady_, it's too _dangerous_ for our _delicate_ little _flower._' Please. The only thing worse than Tont is his wife."

"I haven't seen you guys since Hira's graduation." Ty Lee said thoughtfully as they climbed a set of stairs into the open air. Hira was a year younger than Ty Lee, and the acrobat had gotten leave last year to travel to see her little sister finish her time at the Academy for Girls.

Azula gave a sardonic smile. "You have a lot of those to attend, don't you?"

"Yeah. Lin is next. But two years after that, after Jia, I'll be done- Wow." She paused in realization. "It's hard to think of her as that old. She's already ten now. And you're fourteen now, aren't you?" She asked eagerly. She would be fifteen by the summer solstice, Mai was fifteen recently already, but they had all been in the same grade because Azula was placed a year ahead.

"Not that age really matters. It's talent that gets you places." Azula appropriately remarked as they emerged. "Speaking of which, I have something to show you, Ty Lee. It's a very advanced form of firebending."

The princess reached the middle of the metal platform and held her hand out to the other girl who had been following closely in a gesture to move back. Ty Lee puzzled at the slight green sheen that appeared in her aura- was she really _worried _about hitting her? She backed a few paces and her eyes widened slowly at the massive energy buildup. She realized that whatever this was was not the quick, familiar flow of energy from the stomach, the "sea of chi," to the hands, that was usual for firebenders.

The hair stood up on Ty Lee's neck and unease began to gnaw at her own "sea of chi" as negative and positive energies were gradually forced apart, creating a pulling and tugging sensation around Azula.

And then- the firebender's aura disappeared.

As an erratic string of light burst from her two pointed fingers, Ty Lee stumbled backwards and caught herself on the railing of the edge of the ship, unable to make a sound but feeling as if she should be shrieking.

The princess raised a groomed eyebrow at the acrobat's reaction.

Then she smiled and her aura returned, orange.

"A-Azula- y-your-"

"I'm a lightningbender." The princess said proudly, misjudging the source of Ty Lee's shock.

"Well y-yeah, but- your aura it- it was _gone._"

Azula tilted her head slightly. "Really? _Inter_esting." She said lazily.

"Lightning," she informed her, "requires complete peace of mind to conjure, Ty Lee. I can't be feeling _anything_ when I separate the energies. _Fire_ is fueled by anger." She nodded her head. "But _lightning_ is fueled by a disciplined mind."

Ty Lee quickly tried to digest this information, but her stomach was having none of it. The pool of energy was doing somersaults that put to shame all the other acrobatics of the girl in which it resided.

"T-Then you must need t-to meditate as much as I do . . ." she said weakly, trying to recompose herself.

Azula nodded. "Yes, it's like sweeping out an attic- you've got to get all the useless junk out."

Ty Lee wasn't sure what to say about that.

"You, know, I really can't comprehend-" Azula began airly as she circled her predatorily, a hard edge creeping into her voice, "why you like it here so much Ty Lee. You say the people 'aren't that bad?' Please."

A weight settled in the pit of her stomach now, squashing the nervous flutter, but solidifying into dread.

She had said that her aura had never been pinker.

She had essentially said that she was _happier there than with Azula._

The firebender came to a stop in front of her. "The _people_ here," she continued viciously, "are primitive. Even the Fire Nation citizens from the colonies are still beneath you. You need to remember where you're from- and what your legacy is, instead of spending time with people who are below your status."

The subtext was ringing in her ears. '_You left me and Mai. And then you had the audacity to say something like that? To refuse me?'_

Azula leaned in closer. "I'll leave you to ponder that, Ty Lee."

* * *

As she was making her way down to her room she overheard a hushed conversation.

"I'll bet she thinks she can '_command the tides_.'. You know what, _princess_, I've navigated the sea for nearly forty years. I've watched it take out some of our best, even before the Ocean Spirit went on his little rampage in the North- and I had to go through **_that_**, too." He made what was unmistakeably a shuddering noise. "Ships smashed like they were paper, men screaming. He and the moon command the friggin' tides, not you little-miss-full-of-yourself."

A softer-spoken tone answered, "And then she acted _surprised_ when we had to drop the anchor in mid-sail. Like I would say that we shouldn't pull in for no reason? Like I made up a swift cross-current just for kicks? Impatient. Really, putting of us all in danger just so she can-" the words suddenly became thin and strained and were punctuated by small pants of pain- "_get somewhere- a few hours- ah- or so- ah- earlier? _Damn, we might have all ended up '_smashed against the rocky shore_' on her whim." The last part was muted, as if he was bearing his teeth.

"Had no right to do _this_ to you, either, by Agni. If I know anything, it's that the Dragon of the West wouldn't have come quietly, regardless. He knows good and well that his brother wants his head. Of course, now he has a legitimate excuse for it. How could a _royal_ ever turn traitor . . . What's the world coming to?"

Ty Lee slowed. She knew she probably couldn't walk past the hall they were in without them seeing her, but she didn't want them to think she had been eavesdropping. She backtracked and began to whistle nonchalantly to alert them of her presence. Her merry tune faltered as she laid eyes on the source of the second voice.

His entire arm and neck were bandaged, and across his upper torso as well. He had obviously begun to peel the cloth off of his wrist and was halfway up his bicep, his face twisted into an ugly grimace. The skin exposed was raw and shiny.

The other man, who held fresh replacement strips, in addition to what was presumably a map rolled up under his arm, acknowledged her. "Ah, hello there, m'lady."

She blinked, trying to tear her gaze from the streaked red forearm. "H-hi."

"Captain here's-"

"I'm not the captain any more."

"You still are to me." He rebuked assertively. He muttered something that sounded like "-_hasn't been on this ship for nearly as long as you_-"

He turned back to Ty Lee. "As I was saying, Captain here is treating a pretty bad burn. Wouldn't want you to watch that now, hmm? Move along." His inflection was gruff, but had a faint undercurrent of kindness.

Ty Lee quickly nodded wordlessly.

"Don't worry, we'll get it properly healed next stop. She'll be gone by then." The first man said as she moved away.

"What can I say?" The ex-captain replied ruefully, "Apparently even small mistakes can land you in deep water."

* * *

Several hours later, a litter carried Azula towards the center of Omashu, and Ty Lee walked along beside. A girl with sleek black hair awaited them as the procession halted and Azula stiffly climbed down.

"Please tell me you're here to kill me." Mai joked in a deadpan voice as she inclined her head respectfully to Azula. She smiled a bit and the two girls chuckled.

Ty Lee watched the spark of kinship, yellow-green, that flickered across the two. Mai's aura was as muddled as ever: hers was a different gray than fear. Fear was translucent, like all the other colors; it came and went. Her gray, however, was almost always present. It was opaque and obscuring. She saw the same thing occasionally with Azula, too. Ty Lee rushed up to Mai and gave her a hug. If anything, the aura around the elder friend had become even _more_ depressing. Ty Lee didn't know how long she could keep with such company before _both_ of the grays enveloped her. She always had to keep up a chipper attitude to negate their effects.

"I thought you ran off and joined the circus." Mai said as she put a hand to her back. "You said it was your calling."

Ty Lee stood back from her and observed the slightly darker green tint cross her friend's shell. Concern. "Well, Azula called a little louder." Ty Lee replied, effectively quashing the sarcasm that tried to slip into her voice.

"I have a mission." Azula cut in. "And I need you both."

"Count me in. Anything to get me out of this place." Mai glared up at her mansion home, her aura darkening.

Azula began to walk up the steps as she talked. "Our targets are my brother and uncle."

Mai's aura changed green at the word "brother."

Ty Lee voiced her friend's concern when it was obvious that she wouldn't do it herself. "Azula? When you say Zuko is a _target_-"

Azula stopped. "He's on the run with a self-pronounced traitor." She said flatly, offering no more explanation.

Mai stared at the ground deferently. "But he has- he has been pursuing the Avatar, which was what his father asked him to do, right?"

Azula's orange aura sharpened and Ty Lee winced at the spike of negative energy.

Mai's voice was barely audible. "Could he join us?"

Azula observed her for a long moment.

"We'll see, Mai. If the opportunity presents itself, perhaps . . . but I doubt he will take kindly to the old fuddy duddy's death or imprisonment."

This time Ty Lee's aura flashed green. That pretty blue aura, erased-

She fought to control her expression.

"But first things first. Father has requested that I check on the sorry state of this occupied city."

"Sorry is _right._" Mai grumbled. "The rebels have got my little brother as a hostage. Cowards. When their assassination attempts don't work, they pull underhanded crap like this. At least with the former I was _mildly_ entertained."

Ty Lee suppressed a shudder. Did it sound like- Did it sound like she was _glad _she and her parents were being attacked? She stole a glance toward Mai. When people talked about feelings in the abstract, their auras usually didn't always change to match their thoughts. The gray remained firmly in place, betraying nothing, and she couldn't shake the feeling on the interpretation of her words.

Azula reached the ornately wrought door which two guards pushed obligingly open.

"Princess!" the governor, Mai's father, exclaimed with forced enthusiasm, "What an honor it is to have you here!" He bowed as he walked. "May Agni shine upon you and light your wa-"

"Yes, yes, just get to the point." Azula said drolly. "My friends and I have more important business to attend to than to dither around here." She reached the main red-adorned throneroom of the former earth kingdom palace and sat in the governor's chair.

The governor and his wife knelt before her.

"I apologize." He began. "You've come to Omashu at a difficult time. At noon, we're making a trade with the resistance to get Tom-Tom back."

"Yes, I'm so _sorry _to hear about your son."

Ty Lee, however, saw no green in her aura whatsoever.

"But really, what did you expect by just letting all the citizens _leave?_" Her red aura intensified as she stood and voiced her disapproval for the evacuation of sick Earth Kingdom natives she had been briefed on. "My father has trusted you with this city, and you're making a _mess_ of things!"

The Governor prostrated himself. "Forgive me, princess."

"You stay here." She quietly commanded him as she stepped down from the throne. "Mai will handle the hostage trade so you don't have a chance to _mess it up_."

Ty Lee and Mai stood to follow her out.

"And there is no more 'Omashu.' I'm renaming it in honor of my father, the City of New Ozai."

* * *

The three Fire Nation girls made their way to the rendezvous point, a construction site where they could lower their "half" of the trade, the former king of the Earth city. He was tightly bound in a crate which resembled a large metal coffin.

Ty Lee looked out at the three rebels who had come to meet them.

She missed the initial exchange of words between them and Azula, because even this far away, she could see their auras as clear as day. She briefly wondered if the one in the front could see auras, too, because he was wearing an ensemble that, like hers, matched his own energy. He was _yellow_. An _intense_ yellow! Such a free-spirited, joyful, playful aura! What was he doing in the middle of a hostile negotiation like this? And the girl was a beautiful, invigorating green. The last one, the tallest, holding Mai's brother, was, more appropriately for the situation, emanating beige.

She came back to her senses as Mai walked forward and said, "The deal's off!"

The crane began to lift the "coffin" away, and Ty Lee registered that they were going after Mai's brother without trading, which is probably what Azula had been planning all along, anyway.

The yellow boy darted forward with speed that she might have envied and Azula shot a massive blue blaze at him. Ty Lee's jaw dropped in astonishment as the boy sprang into the air and his chi exploded from his chest, swirling in all directions. He kicked off of the construction beams and opened what looked like a giant orange fan.

Ty Lee heard Azula whisper, "The _Avatar_. My lucky day."

"So that's what _airbending_ looks like!" Ty Lee gasped in amazement.

"_Come on_, Ty Lee!" Mai admonished, sprinting towards the other two.

"Oh, yeah, right. Coming!" Ty Lee ran after her friend and quickly overtook her.

The girl's aura swelled, turning a muted red. The chi around the middle of her back stood out to the acrobat._ A waterbender!_ Sure enough, the energy swept out into a tendril of the liquid. _Wow!_ Ty Lee couldn't help but smile. Two bending styles she had never seen before in one day! Maybe this would be just as interesting as the circus.

She jumped lightly out of the way as the girl swung the water out at her. She zigzagged around her, moving towards the boy and trusting Mai to keep the waterbender occupied. They really _did_ need to get Mai's brother back, regardless of the comfortable feeling her initial impressions had created.

She landed a blow on the boy's leg, knocking him on his back so he wouldn't crush the toddler he was carrying. But then something grabbed her ankle and yanked her off her feet. She flew through the air and landed hard on the wooden platform, momentarily dazed. "What-" she looked down at her ankle and saw that it was wet. _Water could **do **that?_ It had felt as solid as a rope. She got to her feet and fixed the waterbender in her sight, testing her knees to make sure nothing was sprained before sprinting towards her. The dark-skinned girl's back was turned again- she was engaged with Mai. Ty Lee quickly jabbed her hand into each of her biceps and the water fell from her hands as her bending chi was cut off.

Mai smiled. "Not much without your bending, are you?" She ran and locked an arm around her, putting a blade to her neck. "Now where did he go with my brother?" she said evenly. The boy had disappeared.

Ty Lee's skin tingled as she sensed the approach of a gigantic collection of energy.

"M-Mai-" she started-

But too late. Utterly astonished for the _third_ time that day, she watched a huge furry horned animal rise in the air and come to rest on the platform.

"_What in the world_-"

"Hey!" The boy shouted, riding astride its neck. "Let her go!" He addressed Mai, who still had a tight grip on the waterbender.

"You give my brother to my friend right there-" Mai nodded towards Ty Lee- "and I will."

The boy made a face. "Fine, then!"

He slid down the beast's flat tail and walked towards Ty Lee, who was now standing next to Mai.

The boy handed her the child.

She released the girl.

Ty Lee and Mai skirted away as the huge creature shifted and the wooden boards under it bent and splintered. "What _is_ that thing?" Ty Lee called up to them as the blue-clad pair settled onto the creature's back. The boy answered her smugly in clearly enunciated syllables. "He's a Giant. Flying. Bison."

"He's _amazing_." Ty Lee said.

"Yes. Yes he is." He replied.

"Enough _chatter!_" Mai flung several arrows at them and the waterbender summoned ice to block them.

Suddenly the tail was lifted and the creature kicked off, knocking Mai backward and leaving Ty Lee standing.

* * *

"Yes, I've read about that. The Avatar's steed." Azula crossed her arms as she listened to the girls recount the fight, beige aura hungry for information. They made their way back towards the former Earth palace. "That and the bender are the top threats then. We need to be rid of the waterbender at the first opportunity. I'm not sure how to deal with the bison, and the order for the Avatar has been changed. He is no longer to be captured alive, after what happened at the North Pole." She paused. "I really have a hard time believing it was the same kid people talk about, though. All he did today was avoid me."

"Cowards." Mai repeated. "All of them. Won't stand and fight."

When they reached the governor again, Ty Lee handed him back his son, and his wife wrung her hand and hugged Mai. "Good job, good job, you showed those nasty hooligans who's boss-"

"Now," Azula waved her stream of thanks silent. "I was not given very specific stats about the spread of this disease. If we have a mass epidemic on our hands, we need to _act._ We've lost _every single _potential worker for the factories to be installed here, but that's _nothing_ compared to what they could do to the population if they travel too far. Are there any medics here?"

Two people of the gathered dozen, a man and a woman, raised their hands slowly.

"I want a scholarly description, _immediately_. As well as your timetable of infection."

The man scurried away to retrieve records.

"What percentage of the Earth Kingdom people had it a week ago?" She questioned the woman.

"None- t-that we know of, that is. We were only informed of it . . ." she rubbed at her chin. "-today."

"This afternoon, when everyone was sent away? What percentage had it then?"

"We didn't take a measure . . ."

"How many of our soldiers have contracted it?"

"Um, none, princess."

"_None?_ I was informed that much of the population was afflicted. Do your soldiers not have daily contact with these-" she she shuddered slightly in disgust- "-_people_?"

"Well, we are now- post-tulating . . ." she tripped over her words, "it was a disease- from the Fire Nation- they had no immunity to . . ."

"Ah, like the breakout of the Wenua sickness in 35 ASC." She nodded thoughtfully, using the time indicator that became popular thirty years After Sozin's Comet. "So please explain to me, if it was a disease that _we_ are immune to and _they_ aren't," she in a deadly, almost whispered tone, "_why_ exactly have they all been driven away?"

No one answered. It was if all the air had been sucked out of the room.

Ty Lee, standing a few paces away from the princess, looked around at all the gray auras and wondered at Azula's mere presence inducing the color so steadfastly. All of the people here, excluding Mai's parents, had never even laid eyes on her before, had they?

Azula resumed slowly, "This might prove to be a _very_ useful tool if we are immune. Think of being able to send two or three men to infiltrate a camp and having the entire company sick by morning?"

She zeroed in on the woman again. "What was the mortality rate?"

" . . . n-none found dead yet, princess . . ."

The man finally returned, flushed and tight-lipped.

"And?" Azula demanded.

"P-princess, we don't have any entries matching the name . . . pentapox."

"Pentapox?" Ty Lee giggled. "Like a pentapus?"

Azula pinched the bridge of her nose.

Hard.


	2. The Chase

_**Author's Note: Just wondering, did anyone catch my quasi-cameo of Appa's capturers in Appa's Lost Days in the first chapter? I know there was a lot to slog through.**_

_**Most fun characters in this chapter to write: Azula, Appa, and Momo. The Katara-Sokka dynamic is pretty entertaining as well.**_

_**Qin and "Eyepatch," as he will be affectionately called, are both (very minor) cannon characters.**_

_**Just so you know, it was strongly hinted that Mai intended to kill Katara in Return to Omashu. She is not always just "pin 'em to the wall." And **__**. . . uh, don't you know that Ozai's angels would be masters of whining and complaining? XD  
**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"[I]f you have any illusions about employing that **brutish savagery** that passes for bending among you people, forget them." –Haru's off-shore Warden

"I don't believe in auras." -Mai

**Chapter 2: The Chase**

The _clop clop clop_ of dragonmoose hooves sounded in time to the jostling of the carriage. Azula had ridden a litter out of the city, but now the three girls were traveling to a Fire Nation outpost where their mode of transportation for their mission, a coal-powered mass of metal with two compartments: one "engine" and a "passenger" car awaited. The parts for it might be manufactured in New Ozai soon. But even if construction of the huge steel processing factories was finished in five months as planned, the pieces would need to be put together outside the city in flatter and more open places like this where they could be maneuvered.

"Your father is a complete moron, Mai." Azula fumed.

"Koala-sheep wool pulled right over his eyes." Mai agreed limply.

"I swear, I do not have time to oversee every crisis that comes up-" Azula continued at a slow, brooding pace, "and to find out that this one was _contrived? _Now all we have are the prisoners. And then his plan for pursuing the rebels seems haphazard at best. If they make it to past the Waybe River he'll lose them to Fong. Like we need _that_ camp growing any." She tapped a finger on the molded oak frame of the window agitatedly, watching it turn black at her heated touch. "The thirtieth division may have been able to intercept them a few months ago- they were _right_ in their path, but when their prison rig was destroyed their escaped prisoners reclaimed their mining village and Fong backed them up. We've been effectively pushed out of that area."

"And my dad probably would have kept me from going on that recapture mission too." Mai said. "Force me to stay in a now empty city? I didn't think it could possibly get any worse. Before they left at least I could sometimes watch the squabbles. People here fight about the weirdest things." She gave a small, sneering smile. "This old guy was yelling at another one for having wood floors in his house."

"Oh! He was probably a bender then." Ty Lee observed.

Azula and Mai gave Ty Lee a twin what-are-you-talking-about stare.

"Earthbenders always like to be touching their element." She shrugged. "So they take more notice when they're standing on something besides stone."

"I suppose that's their excuse for running around in bare feet like animals. Just how many of _those_ did you see while you were traveling, Ty Lee?" Azula questioned, "I've heard in few of the colonies they are sometimes actually _allowed_ to live alongside Fire Nation citizens."

"Most of the time they're in separate neighborhoods." Ty Lee said quietly to her feet.

"There was a firebender in my dad's guard who was found out to have an earthbending father." Mai said. "Can you even picture it? _Marrying_ one of them?" The dark-clad noble and the princess made faces at each other.

The carriage hit a bump and all three of them were thrown a few inches into the air. To the superstitious Ty Lee, it was almost as if the earth were purposefully chastising their mockery.

* * *

"This is the very cutting edge of technology princess!" War Minister Qin proclaimed as he presented the invention. "But are you sure you want to use such a prototype? We could outfit you with a much safer vehicle easily-"

"I've read the percentages." Azula said dismissively as she paced all the way around it. "They are nowhere near as _abysmal_ as the war balloons."

"A-ah, yes- well-" he tugged at his collar. "We are working to improve those . . . "

"I suppose I can give you a little leeway on that, seeing as you had to start with a design from a heathen. I think our own home-grown inventions are much more operational. Ba Sing Se will soon find that out as well." She halted. "I expect this tank to be ready to go in five days." She then addressed Ty Lee and Mai. "Now, we need to set up an outline for your mongoose dragon training schedule- the instructor should be here in half an hour . . ."

* * *

When the allotted time had elapsed, the two girls waited for Azula as she made last-minute preparations. During their stay, Ty Lee had been much more accustomed to temporary-type lodgings than Mai, but they had fidgeted in unison while making their way around the tents and barricades. War veterans' eyes often traveled places they had no right to; those of the predominantly male company that didn't make inappropriate noises and comments under their breath, simply stared at them out of overt curiosity. They obviously weren't female soldiers- they'd have uniforms if they were. All of these reactions were only partially mitigated when accompanied by the princess, who ignored them with seemingly practiced ease.

Even later, when word had obviously spread about who they were, they still got glances and questioning looks- perhaps even _more_ so.

Ty Lee twitched in surprise when she heard the voice at the opposite end of the tank start out, "So, you're after the Avatar, eh?" Sometimes she could sense people coming- but only when she concentrated.

Three men stood side by side, scrutinizing them with less lewdness, but more skepticism.

The one on the right had a patch on his right eye. Ty Lee wondered if Mai was reminded of Zuko as well. Had he lost that eye? "You know, I've run into the Avatar twice. West of Serpent's Pass, last winter. Spearheaded a mass murder attempt using a flood. Funny thing is, that was an Earth Kingdom city- only about ten, fifteen percent Fire Nation. You can bet we smoked out all his little accomplices in that forest after that. Then I saw him near here this spring, before he disappeared into the mountains and we sealed him in. I still don't know how he got out of there, seein' as word is he doesn't know earthbending yet. Everyone asks me about him. And I still really don't know much besides he's a little kid."

"So he was talking to me." The one on the left, a good six feet tall, leered down at them, "and I said, well, now, I know why they're sending _little kids_ after the most important objective in all the Fire Nation. It all adds up now."

"Just ignore them, Ty." Mai muttered.

"So, did you just arrive from your cushy manors?"

Ty Lee caught sight of Azula behind them and she started a greeting, "H-"

But Mai put a hand on her shoulder. "No, wait. This should be good." She whispered in her ear.

Azula came to a stop, still unseen, as the middle one drawled jauntily in a thick accent. "You girlies evur seen a mans' guts spewed out crushed under'a rock? Wouldja like t'see Gimpie's eye, here? Y'know some of them dirtslingers have the darndest accuracy."

"What? Nothing?" Leftie prodded, obviously the passive-aggressive leader of the bunch. "I guess the little princess didn't teach them how to make conversation. Does she still play with dolls? That's always a good way to practice."

"I tink they're jus' shy." The middle one crossed his arms. "It's a big ol' sciry worl' when you're not bein' fed fruit tarts all d-"

"Gentlemen."

They went silent at the three deliberate syllables and slowly turned. "I would greatly appreciate it," Azula began in a casual tone, "if you did not _harass_ my subordinates." She lingered over the word ever so slightly.

"Yes, princess." They all bowed. Eyepatch and middleman were rigid, but leftie was calm.

"Goo'day and good luck." Middleman offered shakily. They began to retreat-

"You." Azula pointed with a single long nail.

Leftie didn't have to look to know she was talking about him.

"Here." She directed the nail to the ground in front of her.

He strode to the spot. Her head didn't even reach his shoulders.

"The next time I want advice on how to _make conversation_," she said in a low voice, "I will consult someone who can construct his insults based on ability, and not some twisted ignorant notion of aesthetic shallowness."

She glared up at him for a moment more. "Ty Lee, what does his aura look like?" She asked, resuming a conversational tone.

"Are you _serious_?" Mai rolled her eyes in disbelief at the question.

The man's outline was burning a faint red, but Ty Lee had a feeling that a different color was the only thing that would appease her. Not wanting any trouble, she breathed out, "It's gray. The see-through kind."

He gasped as the princess punched him square in the solar plexus. Azula was not as physically strong as many of the soldiers here, it was very true, but she had not only trained her bending. For her height and age she had inordinate force. Coupled with the explosive impact of the superheated air, cushioning her fist, the blow sent him flying. Cerulean flames licked his arms, burning away the cloth parts of his sleeves and lancing across the skin.

The man landed on his back with a moan. She walked nonchalantly over to his side, hoisting his torso up by his breastplate into a sitting position. She put her nose inches from his and hissed, "I don't care if you are Admiral. You will not make passes at the heir apparent."

"I think, ladies," she addressed the two figures, "that his friends here would like a demonstration of your abilities as well." Azula turned her head and seemed to flash the acrobat a wordless golden warning. _Why were you lying to me? I can read people better than that._

Ty Lee didn't realize she had grabbed hold of Mai's sleeve in startled reaction to the sudden blow until that moment. She quickly released and exchanged a glance with the other girl.

"It's just like my uncle says." Mai talked to herself. "Don't take any crap from anyone." She might have been startled as well, but if she was Ty Lee had missed it. She loosed two throwing stars that went whistling a hair's breadth past each of Middleman's ears and then one stilleto that embedded itself into his shoulder. He cried out and dropped to a knee.

Ty Lee's own knees suddenly felt very weak. Why were they injuring their own? Her thoroughly scattered and splintered thoughts tried to coalesce, and failed.

"Ty Lee. We don't have all day." Azula pushed the man onto his back again and he grunted loudly as he hit the ground.

At that, the acrobat seemed to gain coherence. Did it matter? Just do what she says.

She bounded forward as if spurred on by the expression of pain and struck Eyepatch where his shoulder and neck met. He crumpled like a ragdoll.

"Now." Azula straightened, "Where is the engineer?" She strode over to her "subordinates" and said under her breath with a smirk, "The first two were a nice touch, Mai."

* * *

Two days later, the girls clambered out of the tank, on a stop for supplies.

Mai sighed with relief. "I don't know how much more I can take. It makes you so stiff, riding in that thing."

Ty Lee stretched sideways, pulling at one wrist with her other palm. "That's for sure."

Azula rolled her head on her shoulders. "Well, it's the only thing fast enough. In all probability we'll be running out of fuel just as we reach them regardless. The one advantage we have is a tireless machine. We all need to get some sleep while we're here. If my guess is correct, we're going to catch up to them around nightfall, and I intend on forcing them to travel without getting any rest. They'll be exhausted once we finally catch them." She smiled wickedly. "At any rate, you can blame the big brute for your discomfort."

Ty Lee frowned a little to herself. From what she had seen, the Avatar's air bison had an extremely well-developed aura, nothing like the mongoose dragons she and her friends rode. She gazed at one of the scaly creatures, which didn't reciprocate the gesture. She had noticed that reptilian animals almost always were less- well, _emotional_ than others.

Besides, the reason people used komodo rhinos and mongoose dragons was because they obeyed commands without question. Other animals needed your trust. She smiled as she remembered the ostrich horse she had occasionally ridden at the circus, and a pang of regret hit her. She wanted to be back in the spotlight, hearing the reverent ahhs and oohs from the crowd . . . Why was she here?

She looked around at the Fire Nation war camp- the third one so far. Her aura immediately dimmed. It was so depressing, seeing all the drawn faces. Did any of these people really want to be here, either?

* * *

That night, just as predicted, the tank began to slow down. Azula leaped onto the back of her dragon. "This is it girls. Showtime."

Ty Lee and Mai followed suit and the large metal door folded open. The terrain had changed; the last time they had stopped there had been forest all around. Now Ty Lee looked up at the face of a steep rocky incline. At night she could hardly see auras at all, although the lack of light didn't seem to impede her chi sensing. Distance usually muddled both of her senses considerably. But it was odd, she could see the yellow just as clearly as the first time. Was it because he was the Avatar?

Their auras were so pure and bright, and Azula wanted to-

She clenched her jaw and tried to banish the thought. There was nothing she could do about it.

In a flash she and the other two girls were riding up the winding cliff face. She almost yelled as rock suddenly jutted up in front of them, gripping her legs to the leather of the lightweight saddle tighter. But she let out the breath as the mongoose dragons simply bended and adapted to the sudden obstacles, moving swiftly over them. The instructor hadn't been kidding when he said nothing phased them. You give them a direction, and they would keep toward it no matter what. She had to admit, they were impressive creatures, if unnerving. She did her best to remember the brief round of lessons, how to distribute her weight to aid the side-to-side motion of their quick-crawling gait. More rocks continued to punch out of the ground- Azula had told them an earthbender was traveling with the Avatar now.

And if the huge earthen wall that just appeared out of nowhere was any indication, it was a _powerful_ bender. She prepared to reign in her mount, remembering that they couldn't scale a 90 degree angle, but then she sensed Azula's gathering chi. The firebender unleashed a lightning bolt that blasted a hole in the wall, and they clambered through. She looked up to see a small figure rise on a column of earth, and then the Avatar and his friends were already aloft.

Azula let out one more attack before stopping. As Ty Lee watched the floating animal recede to an impossible distance, she could swear that she could still see yellow against the dark. Azula wheeled her dragon around and the other two followed; right before they reached the tank again Ty Lee looked over her shoulder. She had the oddest sensation- that she wanted the yellow to return. _Come back!_ The almost-thought, the partial-plea came unbidden. The blank, unreplying sky made her shiver.

* * *

The next time the tank halted, they had come to a river that was filled with what was unmistakably fur from the flying bison.

Azula, beige aura pulsing, had quickly ascertained that something was amiss. There was a fur trail that led away from the river, but she said, "The Avatar is trying to give us the slip," and pointed towards some trees whose tops had been splintered off. "You two head in that direction and keep your eye out for the bison. _I'll_ follow _this_ trail."

Ty Lee and Mai swerved in and out of the trees on their reptilian steeds, and sure enough, the bison came into view, flying dangerously close to the treeline. Ty Lee sadly watched the creature dip and wobble. Azula had been right. He was exhausted.

He continued to sink through the air, snapping off tips of trees, then skimming across a river, until he finally plowed into the ground on the opposite side.

Ty Lee leaned forward as her dragon reared on its hind legs to dart across the water. Yes, these things were definitely versatile. But it couldn't avoid the waterbender's wave coming towards it. It was engulfed and Ty Lee had to spring from its back, knowing that the creature would be fine, just a little dazed. Just because they skimmed across the water didn't mean they didn't know how to swim.

She caught a tree branch, leaping from trunk to trunk, trying to ascertain the best angle to approach from. She finally landed with a flip and sprang towards the waterbender. The dark-skinned girl was faster on the uptake this time, avoiding her probing fingers narrowly but effectively.

She was vaguely aware of Mai, also attacking the waterbender, until the boy intervened and blocked her onslaught with his club. Then Mai ran after the girl, leaving Ty Lee to deal with the boy. He was slower, and she easily shut down his head-on attacks. After she disabled both his arms and one leg, he used his head to block her next jab. She probably would've acknowledged that as resourceful, except that she was annoyed at the pain that throbbed through her knuckles.

He bounced away from her on one leg towards the waterbender, who was still dodging stilettos. Ty Lee almost laughed when he finally fell over. It was just too funny.

The waterbender didn't have the same reaction. When she caught sight of him she pulled a sheet of water from the river behind her, directing it between him and her assailant. Mai dodged, thinking that the mass was an attack directed at her, but it only solidified into a wall in front of him and she seized the opportunity to strike while the other girl was occupied.

The flying arrows clipped the bender's bare arm. "Rrrrrrr-"

"Stupid! Watch yourself, not me!" The boy admonished from the ground.

"Yeah, say that when you're full of knives, Sokka!" She retorted as she trotted over toward him. They were both in between Mai and Ty Lee now. In getting closer to him, she was getting farther away from the river, and as she stepped she drew her element after herself. "Ah, now two on one. Isn't that nice? Of course-" she covered her arm with a little bit of water as she talked-

Ty Lee watched, spellbound, as the water glowed and the disturbed energy around her injury smoothed out. She had heard that waterbenders could do that!

"-you can't both attack me at once, now can you, unless tall dark and sharp right there wants to risk skewering you, Smiles." The bender continued.

"Nice try, savage, but I can fight close range too." Mai replied, unsheathing small handled daggers.

They both rushed her. She had nowhere to go because she apparently wasn't going to leave the boy. She parried attacks with ice, but her technique wasn't mean to stay in place, it yearned to move and dodge and twist. The chink of solid water meeting metal and the sharp exhales as she lashed out with a whip to keep them at bay gradually grew in frequency until finally Ty Lee managed to hit one of her hips. She staggered, fighting to maintain balance. But once that loosened openings the acrobat quickly reached her arms. She fell onto the grass, still kicking and seething with her good foot. "_Freezing_- Fire- Nation-! What_ is_ this, anyway! Last time I couldn't bend, and now I can't even _move?_" She continued to rail at them.

Ty Lee opened her mouth to explain, but Mai cut her off. "Please, Ty Lee, like it's going to matter."

At that moment it felt like the waterbender had somehow frozen her insides. Her friend was fingering the knife she held, staring at the girl. "Azula did say that she was the first priority." She whispered. Her aura was shifting from color to color in indecision. First red, then dark blue, then gray, progressively blacker-

"Katara, shut up." The boy said suddenly, gazing at Mai with double her intensity. "You know if you take us a prisoners, Aang will follow you to the ends of the earth to get us back. If your friend doesn't succeed in capturing him, he'll come to you."

"Sokka, what are you d-"

"Katara." He said in a sterner but quieter voice, his beige now making way for turquoise. "Being a prisoner is much better than the alternative."

The waterbender, chastened, looked at Mai and then Ty Lee, gray seeping into the air around her, replacing the belligerent crimson.

"M-Mai, maybe we'd better just leave them. We should go help Azula, right?" The pink-clad girl asked meekly.

"Ty Lee, just go get the dragons." Mai instructed. "I'll take care of this."

The voices all collided at her statement, running over one another and ratcheting the already tense situation tighter.

"If you can only keep one of us, take her." The boy continued harshly. "She's better friends with him. More important to him."

"Now I'm going to tell _you_ to shut up, Sokka-"

'M-Mai just come on-"

"If it's going to happen i-"

"-playing hero-"

"Mai-"

Muscled coiled all around in response to the overlapping and conflicting sounds.

A sudden motion and a knife slid from a hand.

But it dropped to the ground.

"Ty Lee, what did you do that for?" Mai's normally composed voice now growled. She put a hand to her shoulder and her limp arm.

"I-I don't know." She had seen her draw back, and she had reacted.

Mai took hold of the acrobat with her still-functional arm and led her a few paces away. She said to her under her breath, "Ty Lee, I know I always tell you that you should think before you act, but this _isn't_ one of those times."

"A-are you really that scared of her, Mai?" Ty Lee asked softly. "That you would . . ."

"Scared?" Mai narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You're afraid of what Azula will do if you . . . we . . . fail . . . aren't you?"

"Of course she's scary. But don't be ridiculous, Ty. She didn't do anything to us when we 'failed' to deal with them last time."

Ty Lee wrung her hands. "I guess . . ."

"Now she definitely _would_ do something if she knew what was going on here." Mai said sardonically. "But it's not like I'm going to tell her that you tried to stop me, okay?" The green that appeared around her gave Ty Lee a small measure of reassurance.

"Hey! Maybe she doesn't buy into your whole 'rule the world' thing, Pointy!" The boy interrupted, not being able to hear their conversation.

Mai's face went blank but her aura turned an annoyed red. "I don't need some backwater smartmouth telling me about my country, thanks."

"So you're going to listen to her, then, Smiles?" The girl joined in. "Is she berating you for even _considering_ what you're doing might be wrong?"

That wasn't what was happening, was it? Ty Lee was thrown back into confusion as she looked at the still practically helpless pair. Mai was reassuring her, but for what?

Suddenly there was a roar and the two Fire Nation girls turned to see the bison barreling toward them.

"We wasted too much time. That blasted_ thing_ has woken up." Mai said hurriedly, as she and Ty Lee sprinted away.

Air once again was forced out at them. Mai was lifted but Ty Lee was caught in a side eddy; she landed on the grass, crouching into a roll. There was a loud splash as the shiruken wielder landed in the river.

The beast growled at the place where Mai had been and stepped towards Ty Lee as she sat up.

When he came to a stop, he leaned over her, his warm breaths bathing her legs and waist.

This was so weird. She should at least be somewhat afraid. Her talent with animals by no means always guaranteed her safety. But the bison seemed to carry some of the boy's yellow with it, and Ty Lee, remembering the odd occurrence of the night before, was instead immediately filled with completely irrational relief.

Before she had realized what she doing, she held out a hand, palm forward. He nosed into it, as if it were perfectly natural, as if it had rested on his wide snout many times before.

"Hey Appa! Tell her to come over here and undo whatever this is!" Katara yelled exuberantly.

He pulled back and ambled to the waterbender, and looked back to Ty Lee inquiringly, as if to say, "Well, why aren't you?"

This wasn't right. She shouldn't _want_ to help them so much, should she? She kept comparing Mai's duller green to the girl's- Katara's, and wondering . . .

It was completely ironic. She had told Azula facetiously that "the universe was giving her hints" for her to join her, and yet, here it was, seeming to do the exact opposite. Mai would laugh at her. The acrobat's time at the circus had made her forget she had stopped talking about auras around her long ago.

"Come on!" The boy said impatiently.

She looked over at them. They seemed to think that their hushed conversation had involved her somehow refuting Mai on their behalf. Was some small part of her wishing it were true? She thought of all the camps they had been through. Even her friends' stolid auras had been slightly affected by the alternating dreary and high-strung atmosphere. It seemed incredible that one person could put an end to all of it. Another wave of nostalgia hit her, less intense than the one before, but still sharp.

l

_A eclectic group they were, a pink-clad thirteen year old, an old woman draped with beads and red shawls, a spry man wearing a tight-fitting vest over his bare chest, and a young woman idly fondling sparks. They were lounging on boxes, munching on sandwiches and fire flakes._

"_Did you see that old bean almost wipe out during his clown act? You'd think he would've learned by now not to trip over his own costume." Poshu shook his head._

"_I foresee a terrible fate involving a large bow tie and raspberry-apple colored pants." The gray-haired woman waggled her fingers mysteriously and her cheap rings glinted in the sunlight._

_Everyone laughed heartily at her mock-serious expression._

"_Shut up, Madame Ona. We all know you just blow hot air for the customers." Rila teased. "You led Ty Lee on for a long time. That was kinda mean, you know. She's the_ real_ psychic around here." She winked at her._

_The aged fortuneteller-actress gave a toothy grin, which in actuality was missing quite a few teeth. "Ah, but they eat it up, dear. Doesn't matter if it's true or not."_

"_And besides, she doesn't have the creepy persona to match." Poshu joked._

_They continued to chat for the next hour, until the younger girls' respective rehearsals drew them apart. This was their ritual, established effortlessly. They enjoyed each others' company, whiling away their free time. They lived in the present because everything rearranged regularly. Pick up and move next week, so savor being here now._

l

In those moments, she forgot the insistent reminder letters, tucked at the back of the drawer; the most she had had to worry about was what shade of eye shadow she would wear for her next performance. Why couldn't everything just go back to being that easy?

So much had happened in a short time-

Doubt crept back into her. What if she did make that small mistake? Was she just one step away from ending up just like the men Azula had punished?

l

"_Even small mistakes can land you in deep water."_

l

Wasn't she already on thin ice for going to the circus in the first place? How much more would it take before the princess' patience wore thin? Could she willingly go back to the den of the dragon?

The girl snapped her out of her reflection. "Well? Are you just going to sit there?"

"Actually, I can't . . . _unblock_ you." Ty Lee admitted sheepishly as she stood and brushed blades of grass off of her pants.

The boy- was his name Sokka?- groaned. "_Wonder_ful."

"Where are your other two friends?" The acrobat asked. Would Azula be able to handle the Avatar and the earthbender?

Katara frowned. "Well, one of them actually left."

"They're _both_ gone." Ty Lee looked around, confused.

"No, I mean, she left our _group._"

"Why?"

"'Cause Katara was a total sea prune." Sokka teased.

"I was _not!_"

"You're right, you were _more_ sour than a sea prune. I don't think the name _Sugar _Queen does you any justice at all."

Ty Lee smiled bemusedly at their banter.

Katara growled in frustration at the gibes and took a different tack. "Well, I guess Aang should be able to find us, right?"

"Is he the yellow one?"

Sokka chuckled. "Well, his _skin_'s not yellow."

Ty Lee shook her head. "Oh, no, sorry, slip of the tongue. I meant that he has a yellow aura. A _really bright_ one."

At their confused looks Ty Lee chewed on her lower lip. Would they believe her? "See, auras are-"

"Gran-Gran used to tell us stories about people who could see them." Katara said thoughtfully.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Mmm. Do they always match people's clothes?"

Ty Lee laughed. "No. But I like the color pink because I like the way I feel whenever my aura's bright pink."

An unspoken communication flew from the girl to her brother. "You don't believe her." She accused aloud. Ty Lee then recognized the sardonic tone of his previous question and the incredulity on his face. Well, this wasn't the first time someone hadn't believed her, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Though something about this case particularly made her aura teeter on the edge of a dim, doleful blue.

"No, I tend to suspend belief until sufficient proof is presented-"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Sokka, _really._ Please excuse him. He's a bullpig-headed-"

"-guy who believes in scientific inquiry!" He interrupted in an annoyed whine.

The waterbender ignored him. "So what color are ours?" she asked, interested in Ty Lee again.

The acrobat stepped towards her, drawn in by her warm reception. "Well yours is a simply _gorgeous_ shade of green."

"What does that mean?"

"It's the color of an especially nurturing and caring person." Ty Lee said admiringly, aura pinking again. "And I think it might be especially intense because you're a healer."

"And what about mister non-bender, here?" Katara asked.

Sokka huffed.

"You're dominant color is turquoise. But right now it's _dark_ green- who are you jealous of?"

Katara snickered and Sokka looked at her with a scowl and narrowed eyes, and said sarcastically, "Well this has been a nice chat, _dearest_ sister-"

No wonder their interaction seemed so familiar. They were siblings. Ty Lee almost giggled again at the thought of her sisters. Whether in Meili's house or her parent's house in the Unshiri Province during the summers off from school, she could always expect several sets of back-and-forth like this.

"-but we need to figure out who we're going to go after. Ty Lee," Sokka said, beige ousting the green, "did the third girl-"

"Azula."

"-did she follow Aang?"

She nodded.

They exchanged nervous glances. "Surely he wouldn't stay and fight her in his condition?" Katara asked worriedly, now copying her brother by rolling upright, trying to flex her paralyzed leg.

"I don't want to chance it." Sokka took on his solemn, commanding voice again. "_Toph's_ not in any danger that we know of. But we need to make sure Aang's all right."

"Oh!" Ty Lee's face lit up. "There it is again. Turquoise. The sign of a good leader."

Sokka paused only for a moment before tentatively smiling at her.

Now that the acrobat had a close-up look at Sokka, she noticed something she hadn't before. Peoples' primary energy, that traveled along their trunk, usually moved upwards, exiting the top of their head. But she could almost say that a little bit more chi was being let off than was in his body. What in the world did that mean?

"What are you staring at?" He asked.

She blushed slightly. That hadn't been the only reason she liked looking at him. She tried to describe the phenomenon.

"Well, I don't know-" he began-

A small animal zipped over to him and landed on his shoulder. "Hey, pfft- Momo! Get your tail out of my face!"

"Awww! What a cute lemur-bat."

"You know what he is?" Katara asked.

"Well, yeah. They have them at the circus. Come here, sweety." She rubbed her fingers together invitingly.

He raised his ears and looked to Appa.

The bison chuffed encouragingly.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as he glided forward, taking hold of her offered wrist and agily climbing up her arm. He reached out and tugged gently at one side of the loose bangs of her hair with puzzled concentration, as if he were trying to determine what it was doing covering her forehead.

Sokka stood shakily. "I think I can get around now. Ty Lee, will you help me with Katara? We need to get moving as fast as possible."

"You ready to fly, Appa? Even if we aren't quite?" Katara asked.

The bison gave a loud affirmative grunt.

Ty Lee looked back to the river one last time. Was she going to go through with this?

She stood determinately, and the lemur took off from her shoulder, landing on one of the bison's horns. He made a gurgling assessment and the bison murmured back in agreement, sealing their sanction of the newcomer.

Ty Lee and Sokka each held Katara under an arm and placed her on Appa's tail and he lifted them obligingly. Even with that assistance, it was a struggle to get her over into the saddle, but they managed it.

"Yip yip!" Despite his enthusiastic response to Katara's exhortation, Appa took off wearily.

"He must be really, really tired. His chi is so sluggish." Ty Lee leaned over the saddle and stroked the soft white fur. It was still a little damp.

Katara gazed curiously at her. "You can see that in his aura?"

"Does Appa even _have_ an aura?" Sokka asked. Appa groaned, as if in protest.

Ty Lee nodded. "Oh, yes. Animal's auras aren't quite as pronounced as peoples'." Momo hopped up onto her lap and she began to pet him. "But they are definitely there."

"So, um, Ty Lee, that thing about being a turquoise leader- you weren't just making that up?" Sokka's brow furrowed with uncertainty.

Ty Lee blinked. "Of course not. Turquoise is very different from orange, which is what Azula is."

"What?"

"Both of them are commonly found in leaders. Orange means you want to control people and have power. But turquoise means you want to organize and direct people, and look out for them. That's what Auntie Ryu always told me."

Sokka beamed and coaxed Appa on with the reigns.

* * *

They soared over the landscape, and even from a distance they could spot the tiny blue flames sharply contrasting with the orange of the rock.

"Looks like there are buildings down there." Katara squinted, now shaking her still-tingling arms and fingers.

"An abandoned town." Sokka observed. Beige now appeared around him.

"What was he _thinking_, fighting her? He should have just flown away." The concern in her voice was matched by the enhancing of her emerald aura.

The blue flames increased in size as they go closer. Ty Lee's own aura was rapidly turning from pink to gray.

"We need to keep Appa out of sight." Sokka turned the huge head and his aura mingled between turquoise and beige. The combination of taking charge and strategizing. "He's too tired- he'll be in danger."

Appa landed and collapsed on the dusty ground.

"C-can I stay here?" Ty Lee stammered.

"_What?_ You need to _help_ us if you're going to stay with-" Katara started-

"_Seriously_, Katara, are you going to start lecturing people again about 'pulling their own weight,' after Toph?" Sokka cut her off. "Let's just _go_. Aang needs us."

Katara quickly shut off whatever snappy response she had planned at the mention of Aang's name and the two siblings ran between buildings.

Appa was already snoring softly as they left.

Ty Lee patted his back. "That's right, get some rest." She said smoothly. She strained her ears to hear any clue of what was going on. What sound might have echoed in the empty place was drowned out by the roaring of fire.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion and Appa started to his feet, tossing her from the saddle. She landed on her hands and in a half-handspring was upright again.

Appa rumbled apologetically.

"That's all right. You just can't get a break, can you, buddy?" She said seriously. She ran down an alley and peeked around the edge of a building to see what had happened.

She saw several figures, many different heights, one on the ground and one kneeling. She squinted, then closed her eyes, getting a reading on each of them. She confirmed that Azula wasn't there. One was Sokka, one was Katara, one she didn't recognize and two-

Her eyes opened in surprise as an arc of firebending shot out of the kneeling figure. Could that really be-

She jogged out towards them.

"Katara, look out!" A voice shouted and an earth column came out of nowhere, sending her sprawling.

"Toph, no, she's on our side!" Katara said back to the earthbender.

"What?"

"It's fine, Toph." She repeated, coming to Ty Lee. "You okay?"

"Katara, you really need to get over here, more." Toph insisted, taking a step back towards Iroh, who had not long before been serving her tea.

"I-I told you to just _go_." Zuko mumbled as he stood defensively, legs spread apart.

"Don't be an _idiot._" Toph snapped, sinking into a stance in response, glaring at the ground.

Flames spurted at his fists. "Say that to my _face._"

Her blind seafoam eyes turned upwards. "I don't know_ who you are_, but if you care about him anywhere _near_ as much as he cares about you, you'll _**let**__ the __**damn**__ waterbender __**heal**__ him._"

Zuko blinked rapidly, utterly dumbfounded at the _complete_ stranger's discerning words, and the flames winked out.

Katara brought her water to her hands and made a silent questioning gesture. He nodded hesitantly and hovered over her as she knelt and the water glowed.

Ty Lee was completely oblivious to all of the conversation, and she was beginning to tremble. Sokka noticed her reaction and asked, "Ty Lee? Are you all right?"

She shook her head, now swaying unsteadily.

He rushed to her and took hold of her wrists. "Ty Lee, _what's wrong_?"

She managed to get the words out in a strangled whisper before she fainted.

"Z-Z-Zuko's au-aura."


	3. Shame

_**Author's Note: Um, btw I don't own ATLA. If I did I would thrash the living daylights out of Shaymalan and hire FANS to make a friggin' movie.**_

_**Anyway, I think it's funny how much the Avatar characters don't know about each other. I mean, think about it as you read. The series pretty much operated off of the audience's knowledge of the characters. That doesn't mean I think that the show should have rehashed stuff, not at all, but it is interesting to think about the characters' reactions. And I wonder why Jee didn't know Zuko's story, after being on a ship with him for three years!- perhaps I'll explore that later.**_

_**And as you read, please remember the point Zuko is at in the second season. What if the Gaang had to try and convince that Zuko to join them then? . . . So get ready for angst. (interspersed with a little humor, don't worry)**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"'Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor.'

'So that's why he's so obsessed. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal.'" –Iroh and Lieutenant Jee

**Chapter 3: Shame**

"_Azula, what's going on? Mai isn't here today, and everyone's saying . . ." the eleven-year-old peered fearfully around the lawn of the Academy at the groups of students, who were clustered unusually tightly together, indicating that hot new gossip had taken root over the weekend. All eyes had been on the princess as she arrived, but no one was brave enough to approach her, and certainly not ask for conformation. "Everyone's saying something happened to Zuko," she continued plaintively, " . . . Is it . . . is it true . . . ?" She clung to the princess' arm._

"_Ty Lee, please." Azula said impatiently as she pried her unwanted grip off. _

_The princess faced her hungry-eyed peers and with all the poise of a royal proclaimed loudly, "Prince Zuko is indeed leaving the Fire Nation, as soon as he is able. He has disrespected the Firelord and has been duly punished. I expect not to be bothered about details," she finished crisply. _

_There were several noddings and quiet acknowledgements at her word, and the groups migrated towards the white marble entrance to the main building. As multiple conversations started simultaneously, an eruption of sound flowed through the air and clattered off the hard polished surfaces of the inside. She continued to herself in a normal voice as she rolled her eyes, "No doubt I'll have to say something similar at the Boy's Academy tomorrow." _

_Ty Lee stood, bewildered. "Why?"_

"_Does it matter? This means I will be Firelord." _

"_W-well yeah, but Mai-"_

"_You don't want me to be Firelord?" Azula narrowed her eyes._

"_O-of course!" Ty Lee squeaked. "You're the smartest person in either of the schools- you know Yunru is so jealous of you."_

"_Really?" Azula said, distracted at the mention of Ty Lee's next oldest sister. "She doesn't act like it."_

_Ty Lee nodded her head vigorously. "But she still likes you a lot, really. You know people can still like you even if-"_

_Azula started after the rest of the students, obviously expecting Ty Lee to follow her as she usually did and continue her sycophantic babble._

"_B-but wait . . ." Ty Lee said timidly as she jogged after her. "Why does Zuko have to go? You can be Firelord anyway, right?"_

_"Pick up the pace or we're going to be late for class." _

"_I mean, Master Iroh has been here while . . . the Firelord is in charge . . ." she trailed off uncertainly._

_Azula rubbed at her temples. _"_You are so naive, Ty Lee."_

l

Ty Lee hung somewhere between the sea of unconsciousness and the sky of awareness for a moment as real voices reached her ears.

"Zuko, I'm asking you to try and let go of your shame." It was familiar. Something about blue . . .

"But I don't feel any shame at all! I'm as proud as ever." Her thoughts wavered at the sound of the anger.

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but it's source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"Well, my life has been nothing _but_ humbling lately."

There was a pause.

"Why do you treat them as if they are friends, uncle?"

"They _are_ friends, Zuko."

"_What are you talking about?_ How can you say that?"

"Zuko, you've _seen_ what this war has done to the Earth Kingdom. You _know_ that it is right to help the Avatar."

Heat beat at her face and Ty Lee's eyes fluttered open in alarm. "Wha-" She saw fire and she yelled as she closed her eyes again and threw up her arms defensively, heart hammering.

"Ty Lee?" Iroh put a hand to her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

She quickly scanned the decrepit building. "The- f-fire-"

"As you know, my nephew tends to overreact." Iroh sighed, settling next to her. "I believe it has gotten significantly worse since you have seen him. I'm sorry you had to awaken to such a display."

She blinked wearily. "What- where am I? Is that you, Master Iroh?"

The old man chuckled. "Please, I've told you before to just call me Iroh."

He met her eyes and she sucked in a small, awed breath as his aura turned from bright blue to white.

"You always did have a strong connection to the Spirit World." He observed.

"And so do you." She had only met one other person before who could produce a white aura- Auntie Ryu's father. It was still something that amazed her. It seemed to make her heart jump of its own accord.

"I met a young woman recently who did as well." He looked away and rested his head back against the wall. "She was very brave." He whispered reminiscently. "I suppose _that's_ why they trust me, even though they _shouldn't_, by any means. Because I stood up for her."

Ty Lee raised her gaze to his. "They? The Avatar and his friends are still here?"

"Of course. They wouldn't leave you behind."

"They only _just_ met me."

Iroh smiled kindly. "I think you have read them well enough to know that they form bonds quickly." He turned back to her. "I've asked Zuko to join the Avatar. But . . ." He paused. "As you may have realized, good is easier to see for some-" he tilted his head knowingly at her- "and harder to see for others. And my nephew has a particularly heavy handicap."

She looked down and began to fiddle with her braid anxiously. "_Three years_, Master Iroh? _Three years_ he's been like this?" She implored the old man quietly.

Iroh's aura shifted to a dark shade of blue. "Yes."

"Then you can see-" she faltered- "h-how twisted up his energy is?"

"Not in the same way you can, but I've been with him far too long to _not_ understand."

He gave a tortured sigh. "I fear being around the Avatar like this is crushing his spirit even more. The boy is within reach, but there is nothing he can do to get him back to the Fire Nation. He feels so powerless."

"Ty Lee!" Katara poked her head through the doorway. "You're awake!"

"Yeah." She said tiredly.

"Good, 'cause we were just about to make dinner. Can you make us a fire, sir?"

Iroh got stiffly to his feet with a popping of old joints. "Of course. And how many times do I have to _tell_ everyone they can just call me _Iroh_?" he said in a jovial voice.

Katara smiled awkwardly. "I'll try." She walked to Ty Lee and warmly offered the girl a hand to help her up.

"Where did Zuko go?" Ty Lee asked.

"That way, I think."

Ty Lee followed her direction, walking through the maze of buildings and closing her eyes periodically to cast out for his chi. Finally she sensed him and recoiled internally at what she encountered.

"Zuko?" She said quietly, rounding the corner of what used to be a barber shop.

"So you helped them?" He asked gruffly, standing and facing her confrontationally.

She ignored his question and rushed to him, flinging her arms around his stiff, surprised torso and burying her cheek into his chest. "Zuko! I can't believe it's really you! You know I never thought I would see you again after-" she stopped, pulling back just enough to look into his troubled eyes.

They both looked away and there was a long silence as she released him and placed a hand just above her elbow, gripping her arm awkwardly.

"My uncle and I are leaving as soon as possible." He whispered.

"What? Why?" She asked, almost pleading.

"You know why. I can't be here, with the Avatar- this- this is just too screwed up." He ran his hands across his newly-grown short hair.

"I could almost say the same thing." She chuckled half-heartedly. "But at the same time-"

"GUYS! Dinner!" Katara shouted.

"Will you at least come and eat?" She asked teasingly.

The response, a doleful, pained gaze, took her smile away.

* * *

As it got dark, the whole group sat around the fire, except for one.

"Zuko, _please_ come and join us." Iroh called to his nephew, who had set up a separate fire farther off.

"No."

Toph pointed her arm towards Zuko and in a sweeping motion moved the earth under him. He zipped towards the bigger fire and came to rest next to Iroh. They both blinked in surprise.

Toph resumed eating nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened, but a smirk played around her mouth.

"Want some, Ty Lee?" Sokka offered her the leg of a jackalope he had caught.

She pressed her lips together at the sight of the mostly intact limb, trying not to imagine the creature it had belonged to. "Oh, I-I don't think so, sorry."

"Still a little woozy?" He asked kindly.

"Well, yeah, maybe I am . . . but I'm a vegetarian."

"Really? Me too!" Aang grinned.

"Are you _serious?_" Sokka waved his arms above his head. "I still can't wrap my mind around this concept of _no meat_."

"Well, when I joined the circus I had to begin eating meat again occasionally because you never knew _what_ you were going to get on the road," she admitted in embarrassment. "But since I've been with Azula she's provided me with what I need."

"That's good of her." Aang chirped happily as he dug into an assortment of nuts and passed some to Ty Lee. "You can always find _something_ to like about someone."

"You always are the one to look for the best in people, Aang." Katara rolled her eyes, but smiled at him affectionately.

The voice of the prince cut into the light-hearted conversation like a rusty knife. "And while you're busy looking for the _best_ in her, she'll shoot you through the heart with lightning."

There was a strained silence.

"This is just too weird." Katara said softly as she shook her head. "For so long, when I've pictured the face of the enemy, it was your face."

Zuko stood swiftly, dropping his half-eaten bread on the ground. "Yeah, it kinda gets stuck in your memory, _doesn't it_?"

Katara's eyes went wide and a hand went to her mouth. "No, no, that's not what I meant-"

But he was gone before she had finished her sentence.

Sokka stared after him, a half nibbled leg poised and mouth open. Then he turned to his sister. "Wow, Katara. _Nice_."

"I didn't . . ." she put a hand to her forehead- "mean it like that- it's just-"

"I think it is time you all learned about my nephew's affliction." Iroh said solemnly.

"Affliction? That sounds like present tense. That looks like a very old burn." Sokka observed.

"Trust me when I say, that there is still pain there that's every bit as real as the day the fire touched his skin." Iroh replied morosely.

Ty Lee took a rattling breath. "I can- _see_ it." She whispered. "I've never encountered a hue of red like his. And it extends so far out from his body, it's like it isn't even a part of him. And his chi is blocked up around-" she closed her eyes and put her hand to the left side of her face- "and around his throat and stomach." She moved her palm to the respective places.

Iroh nodded sadly. "Yes, I believe what you are seeing are his chakras."

"Chakras?" Katara asked.

"They are pools of energy in the body, that can be blocked by various emotional turbulence." Iroh explained. "And as I said, it is time you all knew what happened to him."

They all waited patiently as Iroh shifted into a more comfortable position and took a deep breath. He had told the same story to Zuko's crew a few months before.

His resonant voice wove a terrible spell. Ty Lee and Katara wore similar bereaved expressions as he talked, though one was fresh while the other one was more hollow with resignation.

"He knelt before his father in the arena. I still remember his words as clear as day. '_I only have the Fire Nation's best interests at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn. I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son. I won't fight you._'"

"But my brother was not deterred. That's when he-" he stopped, unable to continue.

"When he what?" A small voice broke the large silence. Toph had sensed the understanding tension that had gone around the circle.

Everyone's heads turned to her.

"That's right." Sokka said wonderingly. "You haven't- seen his face."

Toph _made_ a face. "Yeah, I've never seen _anything_, Genius."

Nervous glances flitted around in all directions.

"A-around his eye." Katara started bravely, "He has a really bad burn."

"Apparently inflicted by his father at this- what did you call it, Agni Kai?" Sokka asked Iroh.

Iroh's mouth tightened. "If it can even be called that."

Toph blew some hair out of her face and crossed her arms. "So _that's_ why he was so annoyed about the comment about his face. You sighted people put a lot of stock in faces, don't you?"

"Could you for_ once _in your life be a little sensitive, Toph?" Katara demanded. "It's not just about the scar, it's about how his father treated him. Your parents didn't _send_ you away. You came because you _wanted_ to."

Toph drew herself up in outrage. "Believe it or not, I _do_ understand, Queeny! If my father were powerful enough to crack a couple of my ribs, I'd be horrified if he actually _did _it." Broken ribs were the most common injury among earthbenders. She leaned back again once she had effectively crushed that tangent and questioned, "So he has a ponytail, and a burn on his face?"

Sokka laughed nervously, remembering his comment to her about an 'angry freak with a ponytail.' "Actually, he's cut his hair now- and grown some out." He told her.

"That's very descriptive, thanks." Toph remarked sarcastically.

"The topknots we wore were Fire Nation hairstyles." Iroh offered. "They shaved his head to treat the burn," he paused - "And when it began to grow back he cut it again, saying that he would wear it that way as long as he was banished."

"Kinda self-abasing, isn't it?" Sokka said sadly, unconsciously running his hand down his head towards his own 'wolftail.' "You know, I could technically grow mine out now," he commented, "since I've finished the ice dodging ritual. But I don't want to until I've done it with-"

"-dad." Katara finished for him, meeting his eyes and smiling encouragingly.

There was a pause and many of them resumed eating.

"So wait a second," Toph said incredulously. "What kind of crazy Nation do you guys run? Zuko was _banished_ just because he spoke out of turn?"

"Well, no, not technically. He was banished and ordered to remain marked for refusing to fight. It was a very harsh punishment. Uncalled for. And I should have-" Iroh drew a sudden, defiant breath and the campfire swelled. Ty Lee latched onto to Katara in surprise, turning her face away. The waterbender patted her arm reassuringly as he let the air out slowly and ground his teeth together. The fire gradually returned to normal. ". . . well, . . . His father gave him an impossible task- to capture the Avatar."

"It's not _nearly_ as impossible as we'd _like_ it to be." Sokka joked with a wry expression.

Iroh chuckled darkly. "It was years ago, before he appeared."

They all turned to the one in question. Aang was the only one who hadn't yet said anything. The nomad's only motion since Iroh's awful narrative had been to wipe a single angry tear that slid down his cheek. He hadn't touched any more of his food either.

"I believe-" Iroh began, reigning their attention back in, "the chakras you sensed in Zuko, Ty Lee, were the Fire chakra and the Truth chakra."

Iroh laid a hand on his stomach. "The Fire chakra is the source of energy. Firebenders are most attuned to it. It deals with power, and is blocked by shame."

He raised his chin and pressed his fingers into his beard. "The Truth chakra, in the throat, is blocked by lies."

Aang suddenly stood and strode away, his face still drawn and serious.

"Let him go." Iroh put a hand up to stop Katara, who had risen in concern.

* * *

"Zuko?"

Zuko was sitting with his knees to his chest. He shifted his head away from the young airbender.

"What do you want?" he said in an utterly defeated tone.

"Your uncle- told us about what happened."

Zuko closed his eyes.

"I want you to know- that it's not your shame to bear."

"What?" Zuko turned his head, only the scar showing, and the damaged eye fixed Aang in its gaze.

"I never met my father, Zuko. But I met other children in the other Nations: I think I mentioned Kuzon to you once. I saw their fathers were the same to them as Monk Gyatso was to me. Gyatso was, in effect, my father."

"A father is a loving, nurturing person. A person that will support you no matter what. Who wants the best for you. And the man that Iroh described to us, _he doesn't __**deserve**__ to be called your father_." Aang's grip tightened on his staff.

Zuko's single golden eye was still.

"_He_ should be ashamed of what he did. To take everything he was supposed to be and throw it all away. He hasn't _earned_ the title, Zuko. So there shouldn't be _anything_ in you that desires his approval _or_ his acknowledgement."

"_He_ should be the one begging _your_ forgiveness. _The shame isn't yours, Zuko_." He repeated. "It's _his_."

Silence. The eye held Aang for a long time before turning away again.


	4. Earthbending

_**A/N: I think after all the angst we are in definite need of some fluff. Once again, Appa and Momo might be the most fun characters to write.**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"Sorry, _Snoozles_. We'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can." –Toph

**Chapter 4: Earthbending**

When Ty Lee woke the next day, she noticed that Aang was already up. The rest of their group was sleeping peacefully.

She stepped quietly, stretching her arms behind her back and heard Iroh snoring softly. Zuko was nowhere to be seen either. She remembered Azula saying something about firebenders always rising with the sun. She smiled at the retired general. Maybe not old firebenders.

She walked out of the old abandoned streets, meaning to find a place to do some warm up exercises, but then she spotted Aang, sitting cross-legged on the dry, flat ground.

She drew in a long, careful, silent breaths, not wanting to disturb him. She didn't know how long she stood there, simply watching. His aura was _golden_. It competed for brilliance with the rising sun in front of him. Much of his chi flowed seamlessly in and out of his surroundings and-

"_Hey Twinkle-Toes!" _

The aura chafed red as the boundaries of his body were yanked back into place.

"Are you ready to be an earthbender?"

"_Yes, _Toph." He said with exaggerated patience as his normal yellow hue returned.

"I'm coming, too!" Katara shouted as she braided her hair.

"Whatever props up your mining shaft." Toph said.

Ty Lee wanted to go, but she had something to do first. She watched them depart and then set out to find Zuko again. She found him sitting on the ground alone, just as Aang had been, though his energy was nowhere near as peaceful. Apparently the monk could rebound from a night like the last one, and deliberately so, but the prince was having difficulty.

"Come on, Zuko. I know what you need!" Ty Lee flashed a wide grin at him as she grabbed his arm and tugged. "You need to come ride Appa."

"Stop it, Ty Lee."

"Come on, I'm not just going to let you sit here and stew."

He continued to resist.

"Don't make me block your chi."

He growled and let her pull him along.

"Sokka!" she called. "Sokka!"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Appa?"

"Over here. I think he's feeling a lot better." The boy kept a straight face. She had told him about her plan.

Ty Lee nodded. "Yep, his chi is churning up a storm now."

The bison turned his head towards them as they approached but did not make his usual welcoming sound. He showed his teeth at the prince and took a step backwards with three of his legs.

"No, Appa." Ty Lee chided him. She laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "You've got to give off some positive energy." She informed him.

Zuko's face folded in annoyance.

"That's not positive."

"I know there's gotta be some in there somewhere." Sokka wheedled.

If there had not been a huge furry monster within striking distance Zuko probably would have started yelling and flaming. As it was, he just said, "If it doesn't want me to ride it, then . . ." He tried to wrench free of Ty Lee's grip.

"It is a he. His name is Appa. Try introducing yourself."

"Are you _serious_?"

"I'm one hundred percent serious." She said cheerfully.

"_Appa_, is it?" The bovine snorted contentiously in response. "Well, you really have no reason to trust me, now, do you? I've chased you across the entire world. And you have been the _biggest_ pain ever."

The corny reference wasn't intended as a joke, but Ty Lee and Sokka snickered just the same.

The lemur was resting on the huge bison's head, watching the proceedings passively.

"What about you, Momo?" Ty Lee appealed to him. She brought a forearm up and he alighted on it.

Momo stared at Zuko for several seconds and then chirped at him.

Zuko stared back.

Momo made the noise again.

"Hold out your hand." Ty Lee told him.

Zuko raised his hand, palm down. The lemur sniffed it, then examined it carefully from all angles, glancing from his knuckles to his face. He folded his large ears backwards and cautiously brought his head under the hand, pressing up against his fingers. Zuko moved them hesitantly over the short fur, and Momo purred and rubbed against him, ears coming back up with confidence.

The lemur then turned to the bison and twittered at him. He growled defensively.

Momo leapt down and came to rest in front of the bison's face, admonishing him with increased volume and urgency, tiny arms flailing in emphasis. The bison finally moaned resignedly and took a large step towards Zuko. The teenager's body went rigid and his face went from surprised to afraid very fast as the towering beast loomed and came to rest inches from him, examining him with one critical brown eye. The bison then faced him head on, and blew a gust of air through his nose, as if still unimpressed, but acquiescent.

"Well, now that we have that settled," Ty Lee nodded. She sprang up to the bison's saddle with much less ease than Aang, but achieved it nonetheless. "Come on!" She waved to the two boys.

Appa turned and lay down so that the less nimble pair could clamber up his side.

He pushed off with his tail and they rose, the landscape folding out beneath them. There were a few sparse clouds, and they threw their slight shadows over the marble mish-mash of hard rock and soft green.

"This is how you travel all the time." Zuko said pensively, gazing out into the expanse.

"Yep. You get used to it." Sokka said with a smile. "But it never ceases to be amazing."

They flew around for a short time, and then heard yelling echoing off the geologic formations.

"Keep your knees high, Twinkle-Toes!"

"Sounds like Toph's putting Aang through the ringer." Sokka squinted down.

Ty Lee leaned over the saddle. "Can we go see?"

Sokka shrugged and steered Appa downwards.

"-Instead of _moving_ a rock, you're going to _stop_ a rock." Toph was saying. "Get in your horse stance!" She bellowed.

Aang obliged.

"I'm going to roll that boulder down at you." She pointed up to a cliff with a "slide" carved into it.

"If you have the attitude of an earthbender, you'll stay in your stance and stop the rock. Like this." She demonstrated a motion with her hands flat.

Then she moved up the steep outcropping with the help of carved steppes, pushing herself upward with thrusts of earth under her feet.

Ty Lee was gripping Sokka's shoulder tightly, one fist held at her mouth. "What is it?' He asked her.

"Aang's really afraid." She said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He is the Avatar, after all."

She nodded fearfully.

Toph rolled the boulder down at him, and it rumbled menacingly down the canyon wall. Just as it reached him, Aang dodged into the air.

Toph came stomping down the cliff and Ty Lee winced.

Aang looked down at the ground in shame. "I guess I just panicked. I'm sorry."

Toph prodded him in the chest and he fell to the ground.

"Yeah, you _are_ sorry. If you're not tough enough to _stop_ the rock, then you could at _least_ give it the pleasure of _smushing_ you instead of _jumping_ out of the way like a jelly-boned-"

"_To-oph_, stop being so _meeeean._" Ty Lee interrupted girlishly. "The blue is worse than the gray." She said to herself. "I think I've seen something that will help. Earthbenders draw their power from the base of the back." Ty Lee explained as she put a hand to her bare skin of the spot. "When people are afraid, their aura turns gray, and their chi concentrates around there. When you're fighting, Aang, the chi diffuses into the air. But when Toph fights-" Ty Lee gestured to the little girl- "the chi in her back channels down her legs and into the ground."

Katara gasped excitedly. "Of course! _Fight_ or _flight_!" She nodded. "Aang, Earth is the opposite of Air. Toph's right. They're different attitudes, and Ty Lee says they're different movements of energy, too."

"Try focusing on moving the chi from your _back_ into the earth." Ty Lee advised, walking away from them.

"And for goodness sake, think about _standing your ground_." Toph braided.

"All right." Aang bent his knees again and closed his eyes, trying to get a feel for the flow. He stood there for a few minutes before starting- "Okay, now what do I-"

Without warning Ty Lee came at him in a dead sprint and he raised a hand, a column of earth intercepting her. She skirted around it and another one rose beneath her, flinging her ten feet into the air. She landed on one of the nearby outcroppings. "_There_ you go! Your chi reacted to the attack almost like hers would have."

"Awesome!" Toph pumped a fist in the air. "Those _were_ some pretty _sloppy_ moves," she said, referring to his impromptu reactions. "But there's no doubt: You're an earthbender, Twinkle-Toes!"

A wide grin spread across Aang's face.

"Whoohoo! I'm-" Aang gathered himself up- "an _earthbender!_" He sprang from place to place eagerly, ricocheting lightly off of various rock projections as Toph shook her head, smiling in amusement. "What are you doing? You've got to keep contact with the ground."

"He's just so excited." Ty Lee giggled, his mood thoroughly infectious. She cartwheeled across the ledge she was on and jumped up down to a shorter rocky platform. "Sometimes you just have to _let it out!_" She dove and flipped, one foot catching another narrow ledge before propelling herself upward again.

"Hey, that's pretty good!" Aang called, perched higher up, laughing.

Toph crossed her arms. "Great, just _great_, it looks like we have _another_ Twinkle-Toes on our hands."


	5. Good Vibrations

**What Meets the Eye**

"Even though I was born blind, I've never had a problem seeing." –Toph

**Chapter 5: Good Vibrations**

Aang's earthbending instructor 'watched' her pupil and his bubbly cohort hop from place to place, allowing them their time to revel. After all, he had worked very hard today. But after a while she shouted up at her, "You're making me dizzy disappearing and reappearing on your hands like that, you know! Usually people just stay on their feet!"

Ty Lee nimbly stepped down to her level. "Sorry. Wait . . . what?"

"Toph," Aang said as he floated down after, "She doesn't know how you see."

"Oh, right. Well, here's the way it works, Twinkle-Toes number two. I feel vibrations in the earth through my feet."

"So you can't see someone when they're in the air?"

"No. But as you could guess, I've gotten pretty good at judging angles. And making a rock wall doesn't exactly require rat-viper strike precision." She paused. "And I can see earth when it's airborne."

"And you can see Katara standing next to you?"

"Yep."

"Even though she's not moving? Not sending any vibrations?"

"I can see her heartbeat and her breathing. It's enough."

Ty Lee cocked her head curiously. "How far away can you see people?"

Toph put a hand to her neck and rotated it lazily. "Oh, I dunno, if I really concentrated maybe a few miles."

Ty Lee's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You can feel someone's _heartbeat_ from _miles away_?"

Toph blinked for a minute. "Well, no . . ." She rubbed the hand at her neck, thinking. "Peoples' heartbeats fade when they get further away. After that, I can just- feel them."

"Even when they're standing still."

Toph nodded.

"So what vibrations would you be sensing?" Katara asked, puzzled.

Ty Lee put her hand to her chin, smiling thoughtfully. "Their form is still. But something inside them still moves, doesn't it?'

"Yeah. That's kinda right."

Ty Lee nodded. "I think you're sensing chi."

Aang slapped a hand to his forehead. "Of _course!_ Toph, you once said that you could feel ants walking."

"Yeah."

"There's _no way_ they could _physically_ move the earth enough for you to pick up on it. Ty Lee's right. You're sensing chi, too. Everyone is connected to the earth when they contact it- so you're able to read it through your bending. And _you're_ able to see chi, too, then?" Aang asked the acrobat. "But with your eyes?"

Ty Lee tilted her head. "Well, _auras_ I can only see with my eyes. But chi- well, I don't . . . _see_ it exactly. If I close my eyes-" she did so and frowned slightly- "I still can place where it is. I can piece together a picture of things."

"Just like Toph."

"Though I don't think I have the range she does." She studied her again. "Earthbenders probably appear the most vivid to you, right? They're the easiest to read?"

"No. They're the same as everyone else."

"Oh. That just must be something I can do, then. I can see bending centers in all of you." She looked around at them. "Except Sokka, of course."

Sokka ducked his head in annoyance.

Aang stretched. "Well, it's starting to get dark, Toph, so I think we should head back."

"I thought it was getting slightly colder." She replied.

Aang bowed to her. "Thank you for today, sifu." And then he turned to the acrobat and smiled. "And sifu Ty Lee."

She laughed. "No problem."

"Hey everybody, we brought Appa." Sokka gestured up to him. "If you want to fly back."

"You know I'm better walking." Toph said, demonstrating her opinion by setting off on her own.

Aang bounced over to Zuko. "So Appa let you ride him?"

The teen looked down at him for a second. "Um . . . yeah."

Aang smiled. "That's great!" He sauntered over to his large friend. He rubbed his head and crooned, "You're such a good bison." He swirled onto Appa's back and gestured for everyone to get on.

Katara and Zuko climbed up to the saddle, but Ty Lee grabbed Sokka's arm. "Could you walk back with me?" She asked him.

Sokka glanced up to Aang and then back to her. "Sure."

Appa rose and Ty Lee and Sokka started after him. Toph was already far in front in front of them.

"I'm sorry about the comment about your chi." Ty Lee said penitently, clasping her hands behind her back.

"It's fine."

"Not according to your aura, it isn't."

Sokka glared sideways at her.

"I'm not a bender either, you know."

"Yeah, but you still have _pow-ers._" He said goofily, waggling his fingers back and forth.

She giggled and he smiled at her reaction.

"And you can do that-" he made imitative jabs with his hands.

"Well, you could learn that, too. You'd just have to do it-"

"'_Blind?_'" He made air-quotes with his hands, moving his head equally as goofily.

She giggled again. His expression was so _precious_. "Yeah."

"Wouldn't be the fist time I learned to fight from a girl." Sokka muttered dejectedly.

"What?"

"Oh, um, nothing."

Ty Lee puzzled for a moment at the sudden tumult in his energy, but then continued with what she really wanted to say. "Thanks for ganging up with me on Zuko." She said seriously. "To think he use to turn my aura dark green-" she shook her head.

Sokka turned to her in surprise. "Did you just say you were-" he stuck a finger in his ear and twisted. "-_jealous_ of Zuko?"

Ty Lee sighed. "Mai was the first person I was really friends with, Sokka. And you know why? Because I saw her aura, and I wanted to make it brighter. But you know what always turned her aura the pinkest? When Zuko smiled at her." Ty Lee admitted. "That's all it took. I would spend time with her, go to theater shows, train with her. But the thing that always improved her aura the most, was Zuko."

"When I met her, I knew that a strong aura could help a person. But it works the other way around, too. When Zuko left, I could feel her draining on me during that year. I hated to leave her like that, when we graduated, and yet, at the same time, I desperately wanted to." Ty Lee stared up into the darkening sky.

She glanced over at Sokka to see a troubled expression looking straight ahead. "What?"

"It's just . . . I feel sorry for the guy, don't get me wrong. But I can't shake the feeling that the only reason Zuko's putting up with all of this is that he wants to figure out a way to get Aang. We're staying with him because his uncle has asked us to, but I'm just not sure."

Though he couldn't know it, Toph's expression had changed at his overheard words.


	6. Confronting the Dragon's Boy

_**Author's Note: Oh no. Back in on the angst. Don't shoot me. Virtual cookies to whoever can guess why I gave Zuko this nickname. (and not for the obvious reason- *hint hint: it's something about his voice) Toko fanservice ahoy. Toph can always make angst funny.**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"You're nephew is very lucky. Even if he doesn't know it." –Toph to Iroh

**Chapter 6: Confronting the Dragon's Boy**

Once Toph got back she could feel that once again, Zuko had found a spot to sit by himself, away from the others.

"Those two Twinkle-Toes are pretty cooky, aren't they?"

He didn't say anything.

"All the talk of positive energy, and to me they were really just annoying." She tried again.

Nothing.

She shifted her weight. "You know, everyone says you have a scar." She shrugged her shoulders a little. "But for what it's worth, you sound like just another person to me."

_Still_ nothing.

"Will you please _say_ something?" He wasn't even shifting _position._

"What do you want me to say? Thank you for being blind?"

Now she was silent. She turned away.

"Oh, _Agni_, come back-" She 'watched' behind her as he got up and faced her back. "I'm sorry, alright?"

She turned back around and smiled, arms crossed. "Oh, so you _**do**_ have a heart."

He growled.

"As I was saying, you sound like just another person to me . . . The only thing that distinguishes you is that awful _**temper**_**.** You have an even shorter fuse than Sugar Queen."

"Arrrrgh." He sat back down, hands curled at either side of his head in frustration and facing away from her. "You're worse than my sister."

Toph stomped in offense. "Say _**what**__?_" The earth rumbled beneath him and he steadied himself with his palms flat on the ground.

"Always _taunting_ me." She felt him tense.

She was quiet for a moment. "You were supposed to rise to the bait and tell me I have no business talking about having a temper," she joked, and then paused. "And unfortunately I can't even tell if you're smiling."

"Will you just leave me alone?"

Apparently he wasn't.

"Do you really want to _**be**_ alone, Zuko?"

Silence.

"I spent my whole life alone, holed up in a house that was more of a prison than a home." Toph said sourly. "I know this probably isn't what you expected. It's probably the _last_ thing you expected. But these guys are willing to reach out to you, too. Your uncle knows it. And so should you."

She chuckled lightly to herself. "Twinkle-Toes has even done something uniquely _special_ for you."

"And what is that?"

"Aang is a total _pansy_, Zuko. He doesn't get mad unless it's something really important. I heard what he said about your father- I wasn't trying to listen in, I swear, but it's hard to shut out a tone like that." She said seriously. "And I also don't want you to think that he was saying that _just because he doesn't want you chasing him anymore_. He said it because he meant it."

"He once said he was willing to be my friend." Zuko muttered. "It's kinda hard to believe that offer still stands, considering."

"I already told you, he's not one to hold a grudge."

"Then I suppose it would be petty of _me_ to hold a grudge."

"Against him?"

Silence.

"So you're mad at _him_ because you haven't captured him yet?"

"I don't know." He said evasively. A lie. His heartbeat told her _yes, yes he was.  
_

"If you could take him back to the Fire Nation right now-"

His heartbeat grew more insistent, as if hopeful, affirming her suspicion.

"I don't _**believe**_ you." She pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You're looking for the approval of the man who has been condemned by the _**softest**_ of the _**softies**_, and you're _ignoring_ the man who has really earned the title father."

"_What do you know about me?_" He stood again and whirled to face her. "_You met me one day ago!_"

"_Tell me that I'm wrong, then_."

Silence.

"Tell me that you _want_ to go back to the Fire Nation. _That what they are doing to _**_my__ country_**," she placed her hand at her chest, "is justified."

Silence.

And now she began to understand that the rising heartbeat wasn't falsifying anything, it was only telling her of the conflict that was going on in him, as he angled his head away.

"Tell me that you don't care about Aang, and you don't care about your uncle."

"I don't care about the Avatar." He denied through gritted teeth.

"You're. Lying." She said plainly. "If you _**weren't**_ lying I would earthbend you into the next city-state." She punched downward and a slab of rock twice his size jutted up next to him. She watched with satisfaction as he jumped backwards in surprise, disappearing from her 'sight' for an instant. "Even if it would mean making your uncle go and fetch you."

She forced the earth back into place and began to walk away, amused that his blood pressure could shoot up any higher. In a slightly sing-song voice she said, "Good _night_, _Dragon-_boy . . . "


	7. Beige and Turqouise

_**Author's Note: And before you ask, yes, Appa can carry all these people in my wacky universe. 'K?**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"You're the idea guy." –Aang to Sokka

**Chapter 7: Beige and Turquoise**

Sokka and Ty Lee arrived back at camp last. They saw Iroh, who was stroking an ostrich horse.

"Did you find a good place to graze today?" Sokka called to him.

Iroh turned to him. "Yes. I think he quite enjoyed it."

"Well," the boy suddenly addressed him as a private would a general. "we did a surveillance sweep today. And we didn't spot Azula or that machine."

"Wait . . . surveillance?" Ty Lee asked in surprise. "That flight with Zuko . . . ?"

"Yeah." He said nodding to her.

She chuckled. "You're so _devious._"

"What?" He shrugged. "I thought it would help Zuko, too."

"What are you talking about?" Iroh asked.

Ty Lee turned to him. "I told Sokka I wanted to take Zuko riding on Appa because I thought it would make him feel better. But _Sokka_ apparently had other _uses_ for the flight."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." He tilted his head. "And here I thought you could read minds."

She laughed. "Not exactly."

"So Ty Lee," he said, keeping his martial air, "What do you think Azula's next move is?"

Ty Lee's face fell.

"You okay?"

She focused on the ground.

"Hey, I'm sorry-" he put a hand to her shoulder. "but if you really want to help us-"

She shook her head, tight-lipped. "It's not so much that." She said, referring to her official loyalty, though it sounded like that was bothering her as well. "It's j-just . . . I-It's just- Azula . . . and Mai . . ."

She was rapidly unraveling. Could they possibly be the same girls that she had spent afternoons playing Hide and Explode with? What had the years apart done to her old friends?

"I-I never wanted to get involved with the fighting." She whispered to herself. "W-we learned war history and events in school, and I-I hated it. Weici told me to finish, to get the degree- that I should have it. B-but I wanted to just take my own path . . ." She suddenly looked up to them. "N-not that I'm not glad to be here with you guys, it just seems like . . . I've gone through a giant whirlwind and-" She sighed.

"Rest assured, dear, you are in good hands." Iroh said gently.

She smiled at him, a genuine smile, despite her words. "I-I _know_, Master Iroh."

She took a slow breath, steadying herself, suddenly sorry that she had neglected to do her meditating and warm up that morning, although she didn't regret watching Aang either. Finally she answered Sokka's question. "I don't see why she hasn't come back to attack us again, Sokka." She paused. "Well, no, that's not right. She saw us all together and the only fighter she has with her is Mai."

"Something I have told Zuko," Iroh nodded, "is that we are far safer traveling in a larger group like this."

Sokka addressed Iroh again. "As I told you, I want to keep moving. But now that we have an earthbending teacher and a firebending teacher," he inclined his head respectfully, "for Aang, we don't really have a destination any more."

Iroh stroked his beard. "Well, my nephew and I actually have a loose end to tie up." He patted the two-legged steed and it snorted.

"Aren't you just going to sell it?" Sokka asked. "We could use the money."

Iroh frowned deeply. "Unfortunately it needs to be returned to its rightful owner."

Sokka furrowed his brow. "You didn't- _buy_ it, did you?"

Iroh shook his head. "My nephew has many things to learn. And owning up to his mistakes is one of them. I believe it's time for him to face her."

Ty Lee and Sokka exchanged glances, not knowing who he was talking about, but also not wanting to ask.

"Where?" Sokka asked instead, pulling a map out of his pack and unrolling it in his hands.

Iroh pointed.

Sokka whistled. "That's really far north."

"It was one of the first places we stopped after the North Pole. Also-" He moved his finger southeast, much closer to where they were. "My nephew has just requested that we make a stop before heading to Onto," he said, using the name of the city where Song, the owner of the ostrich horse resided.

"If we were flying we could maybe get there in a few weeks. But it'll be much longer riding." Sokka observed.

Iroh folded his hands inside his sleeves. "Hmmm."

Sokka yawned and stretched. "Well, I guess we'll have to sleep on it. We'll convene the whole group to talk about it in the morning." He stowed the map away again. "G'night, guys."

The ostrich horse whinnied.

Ty Lee smiled at the animal and began running her fingers through its feather-fur, thankful for an aura that couldn't be burdened by thoughts like hers. Energy always seemed to work both ways . . . "You're a lot bigger than the guy I used to ride." She said reminiscently.

"Ty Lee?" Iroh asked.

"Yes sir?"

"I have wanted to resume Zuko's training. But I know he is still very . . . unstable. Will you tell me if he . . . improves?"

Ty Lee nodded, smoothing the feather-fur back into place where she had ruffled it. "I will, Master Firebender. I think you're right. He needs a break."

"And I have no doubt that the journey you-" Iroh patted the stolen ostrich horse again, "will take us on will help him."


	8. The Sendoff

_**A/N: Another Zukaang friendship chapter. D'awww!**_

_**Tidbit I deem important- pigs ARE very intelligent. Some tests say more intelligent than dogs. And I don't eat pork for this reason. Just soes ya know.**_

_**And . . . I've kinda realized, I think I am living vicariously through Ty Lee- how cool would it be to interact with the awesome animals of Avatar- seriously!  
**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"You're not soldiers. You're bullies. Freeloaders, abusing your power. Mostly over women and kids. You don't want Lee in your army. You're sick cowards messing with a family who's already lost one son to the war." –Zuko,_ Book 2 Chapter 7, Zuko Alone_

**Chapter 8: The Sendoff**

The next morning, the prince was sitting on an old wooden porch, one elbow resting on one knee and the other leg straightened. Iroh had to admire his ability to sit completely still- if he so much as twitched the old timbers would probably creak like badgerfrogs during mating season.

Iroh was sitting on the ground next to him, not wanting to invite the imagined cacophony that would accompany his weight making contact with the boards.

As the rest of the Gaang gathered, Zuko's discomfort seemed to increase proportionally with the number of people. The boards under him did indeed squeak quite a lot.

Sokka told the rest of them about what he and Iroh had discussed. "So then, we have to decide who's going to ride the ostrich-horse." He finished.

"I would like to." Ty Lee said, bringing her forefingers together sheepishly. "But everything will go faster if the lightest person rides."

"Fine with me." Aang nodded.

They all packed up their meager belongings they had and set off, aerial bovine moving to keep pace with the avian-equine.

The town Zuko steered them towards was tiny, not much bigger than the abandoned settlement they had left behind. As soon as the few onlookers saw the tattoos on Aang, the tired and barren little place suddenly came to life. People poured out into the dusty streets to greet the Avatar.

But a different pulse, almost as quick as the enthusiasm, traveled through them as the prince dismounted from the huge beast. One of recognition. And one of hatred.

"What are you doing back here?" A man wielding two earthbending hammers demanded angrily.

Zuko stood silently for a long moment. He squared his shoulders, tilted his head upwards and stared down the one who had, a week ago, driven him from this town. There was no doubt he wanted to be there, but now that he had arrived, he seemed unsure of what to say. The people would never acknowledge his judgment of the man who stood before him and his lackeys, however true it was . . .

Aang glanced between them and turned to walk back to the firebender. He put a hand to his shoulder. This simple gesture sent yet another wave of reaction through the throng- _what was the Avatar doing with this Fire Nation outcast?_

Zuko watched their surprise with an unreadable expression and Aang fixed him with an encouraging gaze. "You came here to tell these people something, Zuko." He knew. He could see it in the determined stance of the prince.

Zuko didn't look at the airbender, but he did seem to take strength from him. Fire _did_ need air to burn. "When I left, I was trying to remember who I was. I told you all that I was prince of the Fire Nation. Heir to the throne. And maybe I am."

"But that's not all of who I am. I am now a refugee. I am someone who is weary of seeing what the Fire Nation has done to this country. I've _heard_ the justifications. And I don't believe them any more."

Toph turned her ear toward him slightly as she recognized her own words repeated. It was as if he were answering her questions from the night before.

"I've scoured the Earth Kingdom for years while looking for the one I thought would give me passage home." His golden eyes met Aang's for a second but he quickly looked back out again, as if he still did not quite believe their proximity. "What I tried so long to deny- that the things I encountered weren't matching the things I was taught. I have seen the inside of the Fire Nation, the lies it feeds its citizens. We are told that our Nation is sharing its greatness with the world through this war. But all the war does is spread fear and hatred. I am someone who wishes for my Nation to be _respected_, as an equal, not feared as a tyrant."

Neither Aang's gaze, nor his hand had left the prince as he talked. But now he looked in concert with him at the gathered people. "And I am going to help him bring on this change."

Murmuring bubbled up. The Avatar was going to help the _Fire Nation?_ It seemed so backwards.

A boy came pushing through the crowd, his mother trying to hold him back by the wrist. "Let go!" he shouted. He wrenched free of her grasp and ran up to Zuko. "I believe you." He crossed his skinny arms. "and those bullies haven't gotten any better since you've left, either," he muttered.

"Bullies?" Aang asked.

"The soldiers." Zuko whispered to the monk. "They lord over the people here." Then he asked louder, so everyone could hear. "Do you know any Earth generals who are looking for new recruits? This guy has some real talent." He nodded to the earthbender.

Aang caught on quickly. "Why _yes_," he said sarcastically, "I think General Fong would simply _love _to have someone of such high caliber."

Aang pointed to the man and barked, "_You there_, what's your name?"

The man paled. "G-Gow."

Aang put on a show, played his role well. He puffed out his chest and _thunked_ his staff into the ground like a sage, taking on a deep play-voice to match. "I decree, by the authority vested in me by the Spirits, you will serve your country by traveling to General Fong's base. Tell him that the Avatar sent you, and give him my warmest regards."

By the end of his theatrics, it was all Katara and Toph could do to keep from bursting out laughing. Toph's gut was twisting because of Aang's performance. But Katara had extra reasons to be tickled because she had actually met General Fong, and knew that he and Aang were not on the best of terms, namely, that he had tried to force Aang into the Avatar state and Aang had destroyed half of his base. So "sending him his warmest regards" was quite frankly hilarious. They managed to contain themselves long enough for another sound to drown them out:

A cheer went up, echoing off the sides of the canyon walls surrounding them. The people were ecstatic to see their oppressor gone. And if he challenged any of them for the reason of their excitement, they could always tell him that they were just congratulating him for getting promoted. It was a win-win. Or rather, two wins, and one loss for him.

Gow himself blinked in surprise.

"Hurry up!" Aang snapped mock-irritably.

The man scurried away and returned twenty minutes later with his own ostrich horse and supplies. He was efficient, and _trained_ as a soldier, even if he never really had put the skills to work before.

He was given a hearty sendoff, an ovation fit for a true warrior. And as he disappeared over the horizon, people began to laugh. They started to spontaneously prepare for a celebration, even though their foodstuffs were meager. Actually, the thing they seemed to have most of was rye whiskey. But all of the visitors declined politely.

Out in the streets, a simple band began to play, composed of three stringed instruments, one with a bow and two played with fingers. They sawed out a continuous ribbon-like melody and a pluckier, bouncier accompaniment. Iroh lent his musical talents to their performance, his throaty voice meek among the men whose volume was supplemented by alcohol.

Ty Lee put on a performance as well, twirling and flipping to the rhythm, uneven though it was. The people whistled and egged her on- they had never seen such a show.

Katara and Aang were busy spinning stories of their adventures to a gathering of rapt, wide-eyed children. Aang was animated, jumping lightly from place to place and sending out small gusts of air, earning giggles and delighted gasps. Toph contributed occasionally, but even when she was silent for the events she had not been there for, she secretly knew when they were "embellishing" parts of their information. Zuko was silent throughout. He very much appreciated that they left his name and title out of their stories- only referring to him as "a fire nation soldier" who was after them. A smile even tugged at the corners of his mouth when Aang delivered a particularly enthusiastic rendition of his rescue by the Blue Spirit.

"It's like you all have history." Toph teased under her breath to him. "I kinda feel left out."

He smirked.

One by one their audience was abducted by fretting mothers as the afternoon turned to night. Lee was the only one left, remaining defiant to the last. His mother, Sela, began to scold him. "Come on, Lee. You've got to get to bed."

Lee tugged at Zuko's hand and smiled up at him. "Do you want to come see the finished roof?" Zuko had worked with the boy's father on the family's barn roof while he stayed with them.

"Sure." Zuko replied.

Toph, Aang, and Katara stayed in town to get something to eat and rejoin the others while the boy brought Zuko back to his home. The various swine-hybrids were not as noisy as he remembered because they were less active at night.

Several of the cow- and sheep-pigs ambled up to the fence, however, gazing sleepily at the tall boy.

"They recognize you, y'know." Lee said. "They're a lot smarter than they look."

"Once you show him the roof, it's bedtime, Lee." His mother warned.

"All right, all right." Lee huffed. He gestured for Zuko to help him with a ladder and they got it set up against the barn. Once he caught sight of the patch of crooked nails Zuko smiled slightly as he remembered his own difficulty with patching the roof.

"I did it all by myself." Lee declared proudly.

"Good job."

"_Lee!_"

"Fine, fine, I'm _coming!_" He stamped down the ladder and his mother bustled him into the house. Zuko continued to sit on the roof, gazing back out at the town which was now lit up by small standing torches. He saw a tiny figure rise and then fall. It was Aang, coming towards him, growing larger by leaps and bounds.

The airbender easily floated up to the roof and settled on his right. "They didn't have much in the way of vegetarian food." He told Zuko.

Zuko didn't reply.

"So did you get what you wanted, Zuko? 'Cause it's sure been fun for us, but we came here for you." The boy smiled.

"I think I did." Zuko said, still looking outward. "Thank you . . . for supporting me."

"Really, I should be thanking you. What you said- it made me realize something." Aang crossed his arms over his knees and followed his gaze.

"My first firebending Master . . . He was ashamed of his heritage, and his Nation. But you hold a hope that they could be something better. He seemed like he had given up on fire, discarded it as destructive and violent. But you haven't. And that's made me realize, that I shouldn't give up on it, either."

"Balance involves all the four elements, and all the four Nations." Aang went on, "And that means, as the Avatar, I have to be involved in improving all of them. Even the aggressor. And I can't write off any of them."

After it was apparent he wasn't going to get another response, the twelve-year-old observed, "So you made a friend? " He glanced back to the house.

"Yeah." Zuko said, and after a long pause, continued quieter, "I used to be a lot like him, once. A lot like you."

_More carefree. More joyful._ Aang glanced sideways at the unscarred side of the prince. H****e wanted to say something in reassurance, something hopeful, but as he sat there, he realized that his presence, his simply hearing him, would suffice. That in saying the words, the elder boy had finally grown accustomed to him. So he looked on as well, letting the comfortable silence grow and flourish.


	9. Dreams

**What Meets the Eye**

"I'm scared. Don't make me any more scared."_ –_Yue,_ The Last Airbender_

"I think about her all the time."-Sokka,_ Book 2, Chapter 4: The Swamp _

**Chapter 9: Dreams**

_Ty Lee was bouncing from anticipation. This was going to be the first time she would see her friend's firebending lesson! _

"_Aren't you excited, Mai?" She tugged on the slightly taller girl's sleeve._

"_It's better than sitting at home." The other replied.  
_

_For all the enthusiasm the reserved seven-year-old lacked, the girl in the brown braid made up for, fidgeting like someone her age should._

_Azula marched out onto the arena and bowed to her master. The man bowed back. "Good day, princess, I see you've brought friends."_

"_Yes." Azula replied. _

"_All right. We're going to practice what we did yesterday. Recite for me, please."_

"_The root is only to be broken when a sure footing is guaranteed." _

"_Very good. Demonstrate." The man dashed towards her and after several feigning strikes kicked properly. The princess rotated gracefully out of his way, in almost a pirouette. Continuing with his momentum he thrust his other leg out, and this time Azula jumped into the air to dodge, landing solidly, one leg straight._

"_Excellent, princess. Why did you not jump from the first attack?"_

"_My left foot was not aligned, and I would have landed off balance."_

"_Let us continue." _

_He launched another series of attacks at her, none of which connected. Only once did she make the wrong decision and stumble, but she quickly recovered herself._

_The instructor stopped then and made her describe in detail what had gone wrong with the move. Then she was asked to repeat the same angle three times._

_By the end of the lesson the man was panting slightly from the exertion of keeping up with her tiny agile form._

"_All right, princess. Now offensive exercises and we will be done for the day."_

_She smiled. She took up a slightly higher stance and began working through the katas while the man looked on. She would spar offensively with him in the next lesson. This day had been devoted purely to defense._

_Ty Lee gasped and cooed at her friend's artful display. Azula at first thrust blasts into the air with speed and precision, but then the style changed. She also pulled and caressed the flame slowly as it floated in front of her, rocking back on her heels and sweeping it sideways. When the princess was finished, she was excused and she strutted over to her two companions._

_She lit a flame and began to toss it from hand to hand. "What did you think?"_

"_Isn't it dull doing the same exercises over and over?" Mai droned._

"_You should come next time, it will be much more exciting." Azula nodded. _

"_It's so pretty, Azula!" Ty Lee squealed, watching the red light go back and forth._

_Azula cocked her head slightly, as if this were not quite what she wanted to hear. "It is, isn't it?" She flicked the fire a little closer to the pink-clad girl's face. Ty Lee jumped back. "Y-yeah." Her smile returned from momentary relapse. _

l

A much taller Ty Lee was rolling around in her sleep, muttering to herself. "No, stop it, Azula . . . no . . ."

A hand brushed her shoulder.

"What!" She sat bolt upright.

"Ty Lee?" Sokka's voice came to her.

"W-what?" She looked around, and was faced with the by now familiar sight of the Gaang as they slumbered. They had gotten several sleeping mats from the town they had stopped in, but like the nomad, she had found she liked resting on Appa more. He had obligingly let her sleep on his tail, the roomiest surface, while he lay cradled by one or more of the bison's limbs. How many days had it been now? It seemed like everything was beginning to settle down into a routine. Sokka had figured out quickly that they had to be extra careful with putting out campfires, as the benders could make embers flare if they took an especially large breath, even while unconscious. And it looked like, unfortunately, that had happened tonight. She spied the offending speck very near where her arm, which had fallen off of the furry mattress, had been, and felt a small twinge on her wrist.

"Are you okay? Were you having a bad dream?" Sokka hadn't noticed it.

She averted her gaze. "Y-yeah, I think s-so." She surreptitiously patted it down with the ball of her foot. She supposed she would ask Katara to heal the minor injury in the morning.

The hand came away and the voice grew serious. "Ty Lee, you were saying something about Azula. Did she ever . . .?"

Ty Lee's head snapped up. "No, no! Sokka, she's never hurt me!" The words spilled out in a rush. "_Really_, she never has. B-but . . . she would always make sure that . . ." she sank back down onto her side and tucked a hand under her head. "That I knew she could. At any time."

There was silence.

"When I learned how block chi, she had me spar against other benders." Ty Lee recalled slowly, "and then she would fight the same people in her lessons, and defeat them . . . soundly."

Sokka's jaw tightened as he listened to the description of the psychological bullying.

"You going to be able to get some sleep?" He asked.

She nodded, sliding a foot into a more comfortable position.

He lay back down.

"Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you so sad when you see the moon?"

This time _he_ sat bolt upright.

"You're aura matches the sky when you look at it." She rolled to her back and faced the dark blue dome.

He opened and closed his mouth several times.

She sat up again, curiosity piqued by his quiet.

"Well . . . I guess I should tell you . . ." He settled into a cross-legged position. "You know how Katara and I took Aang to the North Pole to learn waterbending?"

"Yeah."

"Well . . . while we were there, there was this girl-" he hesitated, remembering Ty Lee's jealousy of Zuko, wondering . . .

"Yes?"

"-who I liked. A lot. And she- liked me too . . . But she was in an arranged marriage."

Ty Lee's face fell. "Oh. I'm glad I won't have to deal with that sort of thing."

"Hmmm?"

"Well, I mean, it happens all the time in the Fire Nation. Marriages arranged for political reasons. My two older sisters have already . . ." she paused. "Well, I'm interrupting your story."

"Oh, right. Well, I found out the guy she was engaged to was a real jerk. He was so self-centered and obnoxious and- urrrrgh." He brought his hands to his head in frustration. "But, well, none of it . . . mattered . . . after-" He sighed and spun his wrists around, as if trying to convey something. "It's actually, kinda hard to explain. The fire nation commander, Zhao, wanted to slay the Spirit of the Moon, Tui. And you know-" his jaw set again, "it always really bugged me how such a powerful Spirit could be such a small . . . I mean-" he cleared his throat. "Well, anyway, point is, he did get a hold of the Spirit. And he actually did-" he winced, "-do it. And the moon went dark."

"So _that's _what that was!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "About three months ago, right?"

He nodded.

"I thought someone had _spiked_ something I drank." She shook her head.

In spite of himself, Sokka snickered.

"Well, I mean, first the moon goes red, and I feel really dizzy. And then it comes back, and then it's just-" she crossed her arms in an 'X' and spread them apart again. "-gone. And then everyone's auras are blazing like bonfires even in the darkness, and . . . I swear, I could feel angry energy coming from the sea. _From nearly a hundred miles inland_. It was the scariest, weirdest thing _ever_. I slept in Rila's room for a _week_ after that. But wait-" she paused. "-if he killed the moon-" she looked up to the white orb.

"Well, see, that's where Yue comes back in."

"Yue? That's her name?"

Sokka's frowned. Had he not mentioned that earlier? "Yeah. See, the moon spirit gave her a little bit of its life when she was born as a sick baby. So when it died, she . . ."

"Brought it back?" Ty Lee's eyes went wide.

He nodded half-heartedly, resting his hands on his knees. "She's the moon spirit now."

"Wow." she said simply, extending her legs and leaning back on her own hands, staring into space. "Oh! Of course! That's why you have the extra chi!"

l

_Now that the acrobat had a closer look at Sokka, she noticed something she hadn't before. Peoples' primary energy, that traveled along their trunk, usually moved upwards, exiting the top of their head. But she could almost say that a little more chi was being let off than was in his body. _

l

It's . . ." She sat up again reached out to put her hand right above his head. "It's _hers_," she whispered gently.

Sokka froze.

Could he really, _literally_ be carrying a piece of her with him?

"I-I promised her father I would keep her safe during the invasion, but-" he looked away and took a large breath, ". . . I couldn't protect her . . ."

"You don't _blame_ yourself for it, do you?"

"I . . . I try not to."

"I'm so sorry, Sokka." She laid a hand on top of his.

At an unspoken cue, they both retreated back into their dreams, which sometimes gave them reprieve from their memories, but also sometimes brought them back afresh.


	10. Si Wong

**What Meets the Eye**

"My dad changed his mind. He said I was free to travel the world." –Toph, _Book 2 Chapter 6, The Blind Bandit_

"I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel . . ." -Professor Zei _Book 2, Chapter 10: The Library_

"You know, back in my tribe, I'm kinda like a Prince myself._ " -Sokka, Book 1, Chapter 18: The Waterbending Master  
_

**Chapter 10: Si Wong**

"Great Spirits, flying is so _boring._" Toph moaned.

"Mental note-" Ty Lee said chipperly, "to make Zuko feel better, take him flying. To make Toph feel better, cease flying." She winked at the prince.

"Right now, I have to agree with Toph." Zuko said. "Sight doesn't do you any good when there's nothing much to look at." They all glanced out into the endlessly repeating dunes of the orange-yellow wasteland. They were traveling through the Si Wong Desert, much to everyone's chagrin. It was the shortest way to Onto, taking up much of the middle of the Earth Kingdom, and Sokka and Iroh had also pointed out the advantages of traveling through somewhere with little to no Fire Nation presence.

"I know what we can do to keep Toph entertained." Katara quipped. "Ty Lee, you've told Sokka and me about our auras. Why don't you tell us about Toph's?"

Toph pointed to the waterbender. "You had better be _thankful_ there's no earth for me to bend up here, Queeny. Who knew you could be so _nosy_?"

"A bit defensive, are we?" Katara said, hands on her hips.

"Whatever I feel, I'm sure you would understand, Twinkle-Two. Didn't you say you run away from home, too?" She paused. "You joined the circus." She grinned. "And I joined**_ these _**guys. Not much different, right?"

"Meaning?" Katara narrowed her eyes.

"It isn't like a three-ring around here?" Toph joked.

"So you ran away. Is that why you're holding onto so much negative energy?" Ty Lee tilted her head.

Everyone looked to Toph, who, for once, looked like she didn't know what to say.

"Wait a second." Katara's eyebrows shot up. "You told us your father_ let_ you come! _Y_ou _lied_ to us?"

"I was glad to be out of there. And you were glad to have me."

Katara huffed. "So you used us to sneak behind your parents' back!"

Toph shrugged dismissively.

"Ty Lee, you didn't trick your parents like that, did you?" Katara demanded.

"No . . ." Ty Lee chewed her lip. "First I told my sisters I was going . . . and I told my parents, too. It wasn't 'an appropriate career choice.'" She spelled out the phrase reluctantly and warily as if it had been wielded against her many times. "They didn't send me any letters when I left either."

"For two years?" Katara asked quietly.

"Six isn't much different than seven, is it?" She replied just as quietly. "But_ I_ got to see exciting places. I got to be unique. I got to be _me._"

Toph nodded. "My parents wouldn't let me be me."

"It's not like you gave them much of a heads up." Katara fumed. "You could've at least showed your teacher what you could do-"

Toph stood, something she never did on Appa. "Butt OUT, Sugar Queen! I guess _you_ and _your_ parents got along _perfectly_, right?"

Only Sokka knew why the silence that followed was so charged. He was steering Appa, sitting on his neck. He turned his head back on the group. "Hey, hey," he said, "I think the desert is getting to us a little bit-"

Katara waved him off. "Don't worry _big brother_, I'm going to be the _mature_ one. She doesn't know, so there's no reason I should be mad." Her unconvincing words did nothing to relax her tightened fists, however. And although she had no intention of any physical attack, her next words might as well have been a blow to the stomach. "Our mother is _dead,_ Toph."

Incredibly, for a _second_ time, it looked like Toph didn't know what to say.

"She was killed in a Fire Nation raid several years ago. And our father is out fighting, assisting the _Earth Kingdom_, by the way." Katara continued scathingly to the earthbender.

Sokka picked up her thread like the reins he was holding and tried to 'steer' the conversation in a more friendly direction. "So when we found Aang, we wanted to go with him. And once our Gran-Gran found out he was the Avatar, she actually encouraged us to go- And heeeey-" he spread one arm amicably, "here we all are, maybe a little irritable from the heat, but we enjoy ourselves, right?"

"Riiiiiiiight?" He niggled at the silence.

Toph gave a signature hair-puff and sat back down.

Katara smiled a bit, amused by her brother's attempt to diffuse the situation. "Practice a bit more, Sokka, and I think you'll be as good a peacemaker as Aang." She glanced over the side of the saddle to see the young monk, smile widening. From that height, his and the ostrich-horse's forms made strange shapes because his clothes matched the sand around, and the dark patches where the feather-fur showed through undulated back and forth under his half-cloak and sleeves.

"Hey." Katara said. "There's someone down there."

Everyone else looked to see a man frantically waving his hands back and forth, trying to get the airbender's attention. He must've been shouting too, but he wind carried his voice away.

The ostrich horse slowed as Aang noticed him.

"I think he's stopping, Sokka." Katara told him.

Sokka pulled up on the bison's reigns. "Does he want us to come down?"

"We might as well take a break!" Toph said, jumping at the chance to get out of the air, and out of the hot water that the waterbender had boiled her in.

Sokka directed the bison's decent, and the man, whose clothes matched the sand closer than Aang's attire, rushed up to Appa and immediately began to exclaim excitedly. "My word! This is incredible! An actual sky bison! I thought they were extinct long ago!"

"Everyone, this is professor Zei." Aang gestured to the man. "He's searching for-" he scratched his head- "a library, right?"

"Created by the Knowlegde Spirit Wan Shi Tong." The professor closed his eyes and nodded dreamily.

"Is this library underground?" Iroh asked, eyes narrowed.

Zei nodded. "I suppose it could be."

Iroh stroked his beard. "I think we should accompany you."

The professor's face lit up and he clasped his hands together. "_Really?_ That would be _splendid!_"

"Why?" Sokka asked Iroh.

"At the siege of the North Pole, Admiral Zhao told me he discovered the identities of Tui and La in an underground library. I think it is worthwhile, Avatar," he turned to face Aang, "to find out how this Spirit would allow someone like Zhao to gain such valuable knowledge."

Aang nodded.

"Well," Sokka said, "this sounds exciting. But first," he threw his hands in the air, "let's eat. It's lunchtime."

Everyone sighed in annoyance. "Don't you ever think about anything other than food?" Toph asked.

"Yes." Sokka retorted. "I think about plans and-"

"Whatever." Toph brushed him off.

As they settled down, Iroh commented under his breath to Sokka, "That _was_ an admirable intercession, by the way. Even I have qualms about trying to get between two quarreling women."

Sokka laughed softly and nodded. Then he looked from him to Zuko.

He observed loudly to the prince, "You _kno-ow_, you and your uncle are the only ones who haven't gotten condescending nicknames." He snuck a furtive glance at her- "Maybe Toph's losing her touch-"

"Or maybe-" Toph flicked her wrist casually, bending and depositing sand into Sokka's lunch. "-_you_ need to watch your munchies."

"Heeeey!" He screeched, indignant that his food could be desecrated so.

The professor pestered them with questions as they ate. All of them were from separate Nations, so the exuberant anthropologist might as well have been a kid in a diversely stocked candy shop. And in all actuality, he seemed to draw sustenance from the knowledge just as surely as they were being nourished by the food. His notebook overflowed with notes of their responses. Aang, of course, received the bulk of the insistent grilling, but his attention happened to end on this:

"So, there is a large age gap between you and the rest of the children at the South Pole," he was reading off some of his scribbles.

Katara nodded. "We were pinched for resources for a while, Gran said. But after her husband died, the new chief needed to have children, so we were the only ones born then. Part of the reason we had so many younger kids was to replace the men that left."

"Planned births . . ." he mused, "Only a select few communities could come to such weighty decisions so easily."

"We're all like extended family." Katara smiled.

He checked over more of the paper. "And you say- that the Northern and Southern water tribes have resumed contact! How perfectly marvelous! They stopped communicating about two decades into the war, you know, with the Fire Navy controlling the seas. Both have periodically jumped in and pulled out of the conflict, but never really committed-"

"_Our dad has committed._" Sokka rebuked. "He said he's not backing down until the war's over."

"Ah, and when did he set out?" Zei asked, flipping a page.

"I was nine, so . . . six years ago."

Zei nodded passively, jotting quickly. "I see, I see."

Her brother locked onto Karara's matching blue eyes sadly. "So he didn't help at all . . ."

" . . . until after Mom died." she finished in disappointment. Doubt seeped into him. Would they still have their dad with them if she hadn't passed away? Katara looked away from him and made an attempt to salvage the solemn turn the conversation had taken. "But professor, the ease of exchange between the tribes hasn't diminished. You wrote down than our grandmother married the chief of her time, but that she was from the North Pole, right? It wasn't so much as mentioned to us. It was just natural."

"I hate to burst your bubble, sis." Sokka replied slowly. "But how do you know it wasn't an _intended_ secret? Why did it _never_ come up? We never talked about the Northerners much at all, outside that, either. I might be able to understand their not sailing all the way across the world to help against the raids . . . and Chief Arnook was pretty okay with me, but Hahn and some of the other guys definitely saw me as a 'Southerner,' not one of them. "

The two shared one more intense glance, the contrast between their personalities forming a little bit of a gulf. Katara the optimist, and Sokka the "realist."

Zei surreptitiously closed his notebook, sensing the atmosphere his questioning had brought on.

"I guess we have some things to ask her and dad." Sokka concluded with a small sigh.

"Yeah." Katara agreed, crestfallen.

Zuko interjected incredulously, "So wait, your father- he took all the men and left the women and children _undefended?_"

"_I_ was there." Sokka countered.

"Well you aren't now." Zuko pointed out off-handedly.

The two teens were obviously recalling their first meeting. The firebender had defeated the tribesman easily. The latter's face fell in annoyance. And now he wanted to accost and question his _father,_ their _chief,_ and accuse him and Sokka of the some disloyalty, too? _That_ wasn't going to happen.

"If we hadn't had the sanction of our elder, we wouldn't have left," he asserted heatedly, jaw setting.

Zuko suddenly grew serious. "What was keeping anyone from just swooping in? What if it had been someone- y'know, . . . _worse_ than me who came?"

"Worse than _you?_" He smirked. "As it was, you were headed directly towards us, full steam. If Aang here-" Sokka gestured to the airbender, who looked caught off guard by being suddenly dragged into the argument- "hadn't put on his little _light-show_, you never would have found us. We would have spotted your smokestack long beforehand and been packed up and out of there. The small size of our village is an _advantage._ One that we've intentionally kept in place-" Katara made an assenting noise, referring to her earlier explanation, "Our home changes shape as ice recedes and moves forward. A lot of the perimeter is a maze of islands, though you'd never be able to tell from most outsider maps, because frozen seawater connects them the majority of the time. Gran and I did a lot of work to make sure we were well concealed from the main sea currents. To make sure we stayed on secure ground or ice shelves, too."

The persistent scribbling of the boar-q-pine quill in Zei's hand resumed and ceased after a few moments and he nodded. "Most impressive feats. Especially without trained benders to assist."


	11. Black and White

_**Author's Note: This is the BEST QUOTE EVAR. Ahem. Sorry. Moving on. Hopefully you'll get the double meaning of the chapter title.**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"If you're going to lie to an all-knowing Spirit-being, you should at least put some effort into it." –Wan Shi Tong

**Chapter 11: Black and White**

"Oh, _wow._" Ty Lee exclaimed, hand over her mouth. To everyone else, Wan Shi Tong was only static black and white. But to Ty Lee, he was a mercurial conglomerate of colors.

Everyone was relieved to be inside out of the oppressive heat of the Si Wong. However, quite a few of them had shivered when they finally got into the library. It wasn't so much that the temperature was very low. But the combination of the eerie green lights and the receding darkness all around was enough to send your skin crawling.

"Are you the Spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked the giant ebony barn owl.

"Indeed. I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten-thousand things. And you are obviously _humans_, which _by the way_ are no longer permitted in my study."

**"**What do you have against humans?" Aang piped up.

Wan Shi Tong leaned down towards him. "_Humans_ only bother _learning_ things to get the edge on _other_ humans. You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified? Countless others before you have come here, seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies."

Iroh folded his arms inside his sleeves. "Then you believe everything is relative, Wan Shi Tong? You do not believe there is any absolute right for us to strive for?"

The owl's white face turned to him. "_Iroh Spiritwalker_." The sarcasm in his voice rustled like a wolf-bat's wings. "What an _honor_ it is to have you at my library. And what a _prime_ example of _relative truth_." A taloned foot stepped forward. "Was it not just _six _years ago that you laid brutal siege to Ba Sing Se?"

Iroh's face grew solemn. "And the Spirits showed me the error of my ways. I am in service to the Avatar now. You question his authority? You question his _motives_?"

"The Avatar is as human as anyone else."

"So you think we should do nothing?" Iroh demanded quietly. "You think that it is right to simply let Ozai-"

"I _know_," The owl's feathers stood on end, "that unless you are here for the sake of curiosity, and not advantage, _I do not want you here._"

"_Then you still deny-"_

"_**Let me give you another example of relative truth**_." Wan Shi Tong boomed at the retired general, cutting him off violently. He moved swiftly to Zuko and bent down, deep jet-black almond eyes boring into him. "Your uncle is still quite a capable combatant, prince. He felled Zhao's men at the North Pole with ease that befits a much younger man, fended off an entire squadron of your sister's. He has begun conditioning himself again to train the Avatar. But tell me, _where_ was all his strength in the months that you struggled to capture the boy, after he emerged from his slumber? His allegiance was always to the Lotus. He _never_ meant you to return home. _He has __**betrayed**__ you._ _And you have not forgiven him. **Have** you_?"

Zuko's eyelids grew heavy . . . . His uncle had never fought the Avatar with him, for so long he had labored, and his uncle had never truly wanted him to succeed . . . the weeks of pouring over maps, the sleepless nights he had spent, were all pointless to the general . . . he had always meant for the Avatar to stay free . . . Everything that had gone through his mind right after the waterbender had healed his uncle and he had implored him to abandon his father's mission, abruptly came rushing back to the surface- As the Spirit talked the words swelled and morphed into a torrent of his own resentment that flooded him once more-

It wiped everything out, overloading his senses, suffocating him-

"_You have not forgiven him, have you?"_ The answer pressed in on him- the bitter word formed in a snarl at his mouth- _No._

But before he could get it out . . . something rose up that had beaten back the same force before . . .

_. . . "If you care about him anywhere near __**as much as he cares about you**__, you'll let the damn waterbender heal him." . . ._

_. . . "I don't believe you. You're looking for the approval of a man that has been condemned by the softest of the softies, and you're ignoring __**the man who has really earned the title father**__." . . ._

Her voice echoed through his head . . . as the memory of her conviction filled him, he was sure again, he _knew_, he did not want to hate his uncle, he did not, _he did not, __**he did NOT**_-

He struggled against the anger, he fought it, but it fought back, incensed that he could resist-

Suddenly the great owl was blown backwards, toppling a bookshelf and sending white pages and black feathers flying. A tall wiry man in deep red robes had appeared, a knobby hand extended towards him. He was wreathed in yellow fire and his eyes glowed blue-white. "_NEVER_ DID I THINK A SPIRIT COULD BE SO _PETTY_- TO LASH OUT LIKE A _CHILD_ WHEN HE IS FACED WITH BEING WRONG." The outrage in his unearthly voice reverberated throughout the library.

The aged bender floated towards the owl, robes billowing and pages from rent books whipping and spinning around him, catching fire. "_The Spirits appointed me to keep balance in this world, Wan Shi Tong. And I do not take my duties lightly._ _**YOU WILL ACCUSE- ME- OF- CORRUPTION- NO- LONGER.**_"

The owl stirred, getting slowly to his feet. "I a-ask your forgiveness, Avatar." He lowered his head deferently. "Please accept my humble apology."

The man's eyes returned to normal and the flames subsided as he slowly lowered to the floor. "And you will _not_ torment my kin." He turned and walked as if he were solid, and came to stand in front of Zuko. The prince was strangely reassured as he looked up at him, even though he had never seen the man before. The rest of the anger subsided, draining out of him as he met his gaze.

"Zuko," Iroh explained, "This is your great-grandfather, Avatar Roku."

Katara and Sokka gasped.

Roku laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I do not blame your uncle for not telling you about me sooner, grandson. You see, he has seen the same conflict in you that he saw in himself. Loyalty to the Fire Nation, and loyalty to the world. He did not want to force this on you. He wanted you to choose this path for yourself. _And you have_. You wonder why you have formed a friendship so quickly with someone you thought to be your enemy. It is because we are bound together. Please, do not hold it against Iroh. He has only your best interests at heart."

Zuko nodded once. "He always has."

Roku beamed at him with pride and embraced his great-grandson.

The past Avatar then went to Iroh. "Thank you, Spiritwalker, for taking such good care of him." The Dragon of the West bowed deeply.

Roku's form wavered and shifted like fog. Aang reappeared, unusually aware for coming out of an Avatar episode, smiling softly.

Zuko rushed to Iroh and threw his arms around him. "Uncle, I'm sorry." Now, as if a tide had shifted, the other side of his memories washed over him, the days of snubbing his uncle, the countless times he had yelled at him, had taken him for granted . . .

Iroh man returned the hug, tracing soothing circles on his back. "It's all right, nephew."

Ty Lee was cowering behind Sokka with her hands on his shoulders, still reeling from the intense and sudden change from negative to positive energy. She had her eyes tightly closed, thoroughly disoriented from the powerful Spirits' heated exchanges. "D-does this sort of thing h-happen often?"

"To _us?_" Sokka qualified. "Yep."


	12. History Lessons

_**Author's Note: This chapter and following concepts are a product of me, knocking around the internet for deity names. No disrespect intended to any religions involved. 'Agni,' the Sun Spirit, is mentioned somewhere in the Avatarverse, though I do not remember where. 'Mahimata' means 'Earth Mother' according to Hindu tradition. 'Zburator' is a 'wolf-headed dragon.' **_

_**Also, I am aware of the species of Korra's animal guardian. This idea was thought up before Naga was revealed, before ATLOK was even hinted at, back during that long in-between period where we were left with little to no clues as to what the Water Avatar's companion would be, and I wondered. And I'm not going to change it: this is my story, and I'm sticking to it, so to speak. ;)  
**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"Yes, yes, I know you fear the Spirits, Iroh." –Zhao

"The Spirits gave me a vision when Yue was born. I saw a beautiful, brave young woman _become_ the Moon Spirit." –Chief Arnook

**Chapter 12: History Lessons**

Wan Shi Tong spread his wings and the shelves that had been knocked over rose and set themselves upright again. Several fox assistants converged on the group, collecting and replacing all the scattered books.

"I'm sorry about that." Aang said sheepishly, eyeing all the tattered pages.

One of the foxes glanced up at Aang, acknowledging his apology with a woof. Wan Shi Tong, however, stood stoically, giving no indication that he had even heard him.

As they worked, Iroh told everyone the story of Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin.

The foxes then began to disperse, but one stopped in front of Ty Lee, cocking his head and sniffing at her. "Hey, there." She scratched it behind the ears. It wagged its tail and leaned into her fingers.

When she pulled her hand away the fox turned its attention to Sokka, gazing intently at him.

"What?" He asked.

The fox bowed, one paw extended towards him.

Sokka raised his eyebrows. "Well, thank you, I think." He looked to Ty Lee. "Any idea what that's about?"

She rubbed her chin. "I dunno."

"You have a strong spiritual connection to canines, I believe, young tribesman." Wan Shi Tong observed.

"Oh, well, yeah. That makes sense." Sokka said, recalling his tribe's headpieces and various other traditions. "Our people worship the eel-wolf. It's too bad they're all extinct."

"That's right. There weren't any eel-wolves in the Southern Tribe while we were there." Aang recalled. "They were the Water Avatar's spirit animal guardian. They're all _gone_?"

The fox yipped in disagreement and shook its head.

"Eel-wolves?" Iroh intoned. "There is a sizable population of eel-hounds guarded by the Order of the White Lotus." He paused. "I believe I remember hearing that they are descended from the creatures you are talking about."

"You are correct." Wan Shi Tong supplied. "There are several different varieties of them now, each bred for different purposes. Some of them have been streamlined into more reptilian forms for speed through water, and warmer weather. Some of them, for whom they have been renamed, can track people almost as well as a shirshu. Some of them retain more of their archaic features- they used to resemble my mammalian assistants more," He indicated one of the foxes with his wing, "with fur to withstand the harsh climates of the South Pole. The story of their near-genocide coincides with the onset the war, actually."

Everyone was absorbed into Wan Shi Tong's words now.

"The Moon and Ocean reside in the North and the eel-wolves used to reside in the South, an equivalency of sorts. But when hopes of a Water Avatar returning were waning thin, and the Fire Nation raided the Southern Tribe, the people gained a growing sense of abandonment. The eel-wolves were a cruel reminder of the Avatar that everyone wanted, but that never appeared. As bad luck would have it, a quirk also began to arise, that produced eel-wolves without fur, and made them resemble the Fire Nation's reptilian komodo-rhinos, dragons, and mongoose-dragons. The people took this as a bad omen, and in their fervor killed off all but a few of them. The elders of the Southern Tribe recognized the need for them to remain, however, and delivered all of the surviving wolves to the Order of the White Lotus for safe-keeping. With their disappearance, the elders proclaimed them extinct, and built off the people's guilt to reinstate their position as respected and Spirit-favored, devising customs that would reinforce this. The Order agreed to bring the creatures back to the Southern Tribe when the Water Avatar reappeared."

As the owl talked, Aang hunched his shoulders sadly. "Yet another thing that I have caused with my absence."

Katara laid a hand on his downed shoulder, giving him a look that obviously said, _We've already been through this. You can't blame yourself for these things. _

"So what is the Order of the White Lotus?" Zuko asked.

"The Order is society that stretches across all the boundaries of the four Nations." Wan Shi Tong's voice radiated with deep respect. "They have for generations withstood war and political strife to exchange knowledge and philosophy."

"If you hold them in such high regard," Iroh raised an eyebrow, reading Wan Shi Tong's tone, "then why did you feel the need to act so hostile towards a Grand Lotus?" he asked, referring to himself.

"The society is not a fighting force, Spiritwalker." he rumbled. "And yet I read that your intentions lead you to call upon them, if you see the need. _I still do not appreciate knowledge being used to battle._" He glanced at Aang. "Although I suppose I have no choice in the matter when _the Avatar_ asserts his will." He finished resentfully.

Aang looked to the floor in shame.

"You wanted to ask me something else." Wan Shi Tong said tersely to the retired general.

"Admiral Zhao-" he began-

"I fear that is another reason you induced so much negative energy within me." The owl talked over him. "I always thought that was not one for discrimination. But apparently even _I _am prone to holding grudges against nationalities. And normally I would simply let your curiosity foment. But I believe it is also the _Avatar's will_ for me to tell you." He said barbarously as he once again glanced at Aang, who still hadn't looked up from the floor.

Katara marched up to the owl indignantly, fed up with his animosity. "Could you _lay off_?" she growled up at him. "For one so _knowledgeable_, you should be able to understand that Aang is _freezing __**sorry**_ for what happened. And he's an _air nomad_, for Spirits' sake. They're peaceful people. He _doesn't_ like the fighting _**any more than you do**_**.**"

Wan Shi Tong blinked at the 'firey' display from the waterbender.

He then looked back to Iroh and waved a wing. "Follow me."

He led them down several corridors, and his footsteps grew more hesitant as they proceeded. They came upon a large room, hung with a Fire Nation banner. All that was in it were huge piles of dark ash. Everyone was silent at the sight. It felt a little like a grave.

The giant raptor talked quietly to Aang now. "I wield a great deal of power, Avatar." He drew himself up, neck elongating at the statement, half-unfurling his long cloak-like flight feathers and opening his pointed beak. "But . . . I am mortal." The bird's gaze was momentarily swallowed by the empty husk of a room as he shrank back again. His sorrowful confession hung in the air.

"He came here, and I gave him the same warning that I gave everyone. Leave, or be exterminated. He obliged quickly. But then he came back with an entire battalion of soldiers." For once the huge owl would not turn his piercing gaze to anyone, he only faced downward, and even with his great size, as his story wound out, he seemed to grow less intimidating, he seemed to shrink even more, to collapse in on himself.

"They began to- to burn this section on the Fire Nation, and while I fought with them, he slunk away and ferreted out the scroll on the Northern Water Tribe. As soon as he left I could sense the knowledge he had taken, but I was . . . unable to go after him."

"After that I swore to myself again that I would not let any other humans in, and I must admit, Avatar, I was angry at you for being absent from the world for so long. I have behaved disgracefully, and I believe I must apologize again." He finished meekly, glancing in turn to Iroh and Katara as well.

Aang walked to him, standing just a few feet away from the large claws and looked up into his downturned face. "I don't blame you for holding on to your pain." He could sense the owl's grief as acutely as Ty Lee could. "But if I win this war, will you please un-bury your library and allow people to come again? I know that your tomes can become a beacon for the gathering of minds in a time of peace."

The owl angled his head away, as if considering his words. He scanned the ancient shelves behind him that were still intact, lost in thought.

"I would love for my students at the University to come and see this magnificent collection, Knowledgeable One." Zei bowed to him.

"Isn't that what you wanted, Wan Shi Tong?" Ty Lee asked gently. "For people to come and learn? Isn't that why you built this library? Is . . . is that why you _became_ mortal?"

The owl couldn't smile, but his voice did grow warmer. "Ah, Spiritseer. I did indeed cross over from the Spirit world because I wanted to _share_ my knowledge." He readjusted his wings and took a large, regretful breath.

"Then you will let them come back if I restore balance?" Aang asked him again.

Wan Shi Tong puffed out his chest and nodded. "Yes, Avatar."

"Toph was even trying to show me a technique that can make rock out of sand- perhaps she could make a path to this place." Aang mused to himself.

* * *

The group inside spent the next hours perusing shelves eagerly, and Iroh and Sokka compared invasion strategies. Iroh, unfortunately, had not had contact with naval information for a month, so he wasn't up-to-date on the positioning of fleets. Also, he had specialized in land combat when he was a general. But, he could give insight nonetheless.

Sokka was ecstatic when he unearthed a bit of information with aid of a special astronomical-prediction mechanism- that there would be an eclipse before the comet arrived.

Aang was wandering around the domed room, observing the artificial stars and running his hand along the painted night sky thoughtfully.

"Aang?" Ty Lee said, "Your aura is turning white." She cringed slightly. "A-are you going to revert to Roku again?"

Aang looked up to where the representational moon covered the sun. "No, I think . . . I'm being called to the Spirit World." He sat down where he was and put his fists together.

"The Spirits . . . What did you say about the Spirits, uncle?" Zuko asked. "You said they 'showed you the error of your ways?'"

Iroh sighed. "Yes, well . . . my journey to the Spirit World is what led me to the Order, actually." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "When Lu Ten died during the siege of Ba Sing Se, I cursed Mahimata, the Earth Spirit. I was whisked away from my body and she came upon me in a rage, intending to wipe out the man who dared to attack her people and defile her name. But Agni, the Sun Spirit, intervened on my behalf because I had faithfully carried the secrets of his remaining children, the dragons. They, like the eel-wolves, are believed to be extinct."

"They aren't?" Zuko asked, surprised.

"No, but there are only two in existence. Two I met."

"So you _tricked_ grandfather into believing you slayed a dragon?" Zuko hadn't even been born when his uncle had presented his prize, supposedly triumphant.

Aang had opened his eyes again and fixed his eyes on the retired general with faint alarm. "Why would you need to slay a dragon in the first place?"

"When the dragons refused to assist the attack on the Air Temples, Sozin began the practice of hunting them." Iroh told him. "The body I presented to my father had been preserved by a people who revered them- The Sun Warriors."

"So you burned it enough so they couldn't tell it had already been dead." Zuko finished off the thought with awe. "And Agni saved your life for it."

Iroh nodded. "Instead of destroying me, the Earth Spirit gave me a vision of the unity of the world: of how the sea and moon created the tides and currents that spread heat from Agni. Of how the combination of earth and fire in my own country produced such fertile soil from volcanoes. And how the grief of the people of the Earth Kingdom matched my own. I wandered for a long time after that, not only to mourn for Lu Ten, but also to completely absorb the immensity of all my past wrongdoings. The Earth Mother was still able to cause me a great deal of pain. But Agni insured that it was a constructive pain, pain that put me on the right path."

"So that's where you were." Zuko said softly. "When you didn't come home after the battle."

Iroh touched his nephew on the back. "I feel as if I owe _you_ an apology, too, for not returning right then."

"Everything definitely got better when you were there." But then he shook his head. "But you needed to deal with it, uncle. I understood why_ then_, too. Really."

At their story's conclusion, and the following silence, Aang's tattoos began to glow.

* * *

He found himself standing in what no longer was simply a representation of a sky. He felt as if he were standing, but he was floating, his semi-transparent form reflecting the various shades of blue cast by the night and the day. The metal gears had now been replaced by real celestial bodies that slowly drifted around him.

Roku likewise 'stood' with his dragon, Fang, and another man, wearing a polar bear headpiece, was next to him, hand resting on what Aang recognized as an eel wolf. It had turquoise fur with white markings, and its thick tail, although the actual flesh tapered, got bushier down its length, like the tail of a shirshu. It had short, pointed ears, a long rounded snout, and small razor-sharp teeth. Its neck was not as proportionately as long as its tail and lanky legs, which ended in blunt claws. Its eyes were dark and intelligent.

"Greetings, Aang." The man in blue said. "I am Avatar Kuruk, and this is my companion, Zburator."

He continued, "We are here to tell you that you will not need to worry about raising an army. You _will _be traveling to the Fire Nation during the eclipse. But it will not be for battle."

"What? Why?"

"The Spirit of the Moon has told us."

Yue flickered into existence next to him. "Hello, again, Avatar."

Aang grinned goofily. "I guess you _would_ know about the eclipse, Yue."

She folded her hands in front of her and laughed lightly, with her gown's tresses wrinkling and shaking to her mirthful rhythm. "I do not know as much as I would like to, Aang. My soul is still in the process of merging with my new station. All of Tui's memories were scattered when she was killed. It is a very odd sensation, as they gradually come to me, because it's like I'm gaining something back that I lost and taking on something new at the same time."

"But what Kuruk said is true. Agni, Tui's brother, forewarned her of her fate at the hands of Zhao. That was why she knew to bless me with some of her life- and why my father knew my destiny. She wanted to do something in return for Agni, but I do not know what. I have gathered, however, that it involves you during the joining of the sun and moon. And that she would prevent history from repeating itself."

"Well then, I will tell the others that we won't mount an attack." He breathed out in relief. Sokka's excited talk of battle unnerved the monk a lot more than he let himself admit.

"Good luck, Aang. And tell Sokka-" she swallowed, "that I miss him. But I'll always be with him." She smiled slightly. "And I think he knows what I mean."

Aang nodded.

* * *

Sokka at first objected fairly strongly to the passive missive. But when he heard who the bearer of the message was, he seemed to forget about his initiative and adopt a more somber, reserved attitude for the rest of their stay.

* * *

Outside, Toph was using the very altering technique Aang had mentioned before to coalesce sand and ground herself. Sandbenders had swarmed in on her and Appa.

She quickly realized that creating a solid island of rock was creating more problems than it solved. She tried to break pieces off and shoot them at the benders, but her 'sight' was favoring the rock and cutting her off from 'seeing' through the rest of the sand. She quickly dispersed the new sandstone and sank her feet back into the soft medium, turning over the top so her bare soles wouldn't be burned by the hot surface. She tried to focus and extend her muddled sense outward, steeling herself against Appa's terrified, voluminous bellows. "I'm trying, buddy, I'm trying . . ."

She couldn't see what was happening to Appa, but she did see . . . There! Two benders coming at her, whipping up whirlwinds. As she closed her eyes to keep out the grit, she smiled. They were used to fighting people who were 'blinded' by this technique. She shoved experimentally at the sand. She recalled the method she had used to handle dust before, spreading her fingers and slicing at the two benders. She smirked at their surprised shouts.

Even with her dulled senses, she could feel the huge _whumpf_ as Appa was forced to the ground. _What were they doing to him? _She waded through the sand, adjusting a technique she used for sinking into the earth to move it fluidly around her knees and propel herself forward.

"Oh no, you don't!" With more confidence this time, she heaved sand at three benders on one of his flanks. They scattered, blocking her attacks, and regrouped on her. She swung back and forth on her wave of sand, trying to evade their volleys, as they quickly copied her mode of movement. Soon the sand was churning like the ocean and arcs of the grains were whizzing through the air. Sand moved a lot faster through the air than rock. She gave a small yell of surprise as she took a glancing hit across one of her forearms.

Appa moaned once in concern, and then, as soon as he had gotten to his feet again, bellowed a warning. Not even questioning how she understood him, she submerged herself completely and she felt him spin around above her, knocking her several opponents off their feet. Then he took to the air and bellowed again, reassuringly, as if to say, _Thanks for the save. I've got this handled now._

She pulled herself back out of the ground as she felt a pressure further off and heard the splintering of wood. The sandbenders began to converge on their other remaining vessel to escape the enraged beast.

Appa landed again, grunting in satsfaction, and Toph curtsied to him. "We make a good team, Sir Moans-A-lot."

Appa bowed back to her with his front feet and roared triumphantly.


	13. Dual Swords

_**R**__**emember that intro scene to the series, where Katara and Sokka are standing together, Sokka is holding a lantern, and there are ships in the distance? I've always wondered what that scene is illustrating- it's really beautiful, and so sad. It is implied throughout the series that they have not seen their dad since they were very little kids, but they were older in that scene. So what was going on, I wondered . . . ?  
**_

_**And I was kinda surprised to find out that Kanna was Hakoda's mother and not Kya's.**_

**_And also, _****_I think this is an opportune time to apologize for all the insistent character paralleling/comparisons I do. It's like my anti-drug. _**

**What Meets the Eye**

"What could you possibly do for a country of depraved little fire monsters?" -Sokka, _Book 3, Chapter 2: The Headband_

**Chapter 13: Dual Swords**

A figure stood, silhouetted against the dunes, illuminated by white starlight. He began to move and shift, swiping two swords back and forth silently.

"You're holding them all wrong."

Sokka started and dropped the twin blades. "Oh- uh- um-" he stammered.

"Pick them back up."

"You're not . . . mad?" he asked the temperamental bender incredulously.

"If you wanted to learn, you should've just asked." The firebender walked towards him and retrieved the fallen swords from the sand, brushing the abrasive grains from them with care. The boy named Lee had purloined his swords as well. What was so fascinating about them, anyway?

However, he was finding that he liked teaching as much as performing his craft. He bent down and began carving the air with fluid, interchanging actions, telling Sokka the similar lecture he had given to the boy. "These are dual swords. You can't think of them as two different weapons. They go through the same motions. They're just opposite halves of the same whole."

He offered the handles back to Sokka, who began to copy his movements.

"A little tighter in the wrist there. See how they take the same path? Step a little wider." Zuko instructed him patiently. "You know, it might be easier to get footing once we're out of this desert and on more solid ground."

Sokka lowered the swords. "Yeah, well, it's not like I can get my own pair, anyway."

"I don't know." Zuko shrugged. "You can get secondhand swords. Or offer to work in a smith's shop for a while. Aang will certainly have his hands full with earthbending and firebending."

"That would be nice." Sokka fitted the matching halves together and looked down their length, examining them. "When did you get them?"

"I started exclusively using the dao during my first year in exile. I started swordsmanship as a hobby a lot earlier, though, after my uncle gave me a scimitar. But I picked up on it so quickly, and it came so much more naturally than- it was a nice change from-" he frowned a little- "my firebending teachers who picked up on nothing but the _absence_ of perfection."

"Wait. You've never had them with you before, though." Sokka said quizzically. "Not while you were after us, at least."

"Well, I didn't want to . . ." He looked away evasively. "In the Fire Nation . . . traditional weapons . . . are looked down on . . . after bending."

"Oh." Sokka eyes narrowed. "Can't say that's not a common sentiment _elsewhere_ too. Know what we're called in the Earth Kingdom? _Ordies_." He spat out the shortening of "ordinary" with contempt. It was as good as a cuss word, depending on who you were talking to.

"But my uncle always told me that it was a petty distinction, that it weakened our fighting forces to favor only bending."

"'Cause we all know we want to _improve_ the Fire Nation." Sokka muttered sourly, repeating Aang's sentiment mockingly.

Zuko tensed slightly at his hostile tone. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"_Please._ You have turned against your own and you have to _ask _me what I mean?" He questioned, in all blunt seriousness. His face went stony as he held out the blades to give back to him.

l

_It was well into the dark season of the year at the South Pole. The ground was only illuminated by white starlight. The sun wouldn't rise for several more months.  
_

_Sokka's grip tightened on his sister as they watched the green and purple patched ships approach._

_Would Hakoda be in one of them this time?_

_For every time he wished dad would return, his stomach lurched at the thought of his coming home in one of **these** boats._

_Motionless._

_Cold._

_The fire at the blubber-oil wick of his lanturn sputtered momentarily, as if drawing attention to itself. _

_Here I give you light.  
_

_Here I give you life.  
_

_But out there, I take it away._

_The men who came home in these ships, were to be anointed by Kanna, and sent to the sea._

_These men, who were extinguished by one element, came home to take reprieve in their native, opposite one. Their proper resting place would always be here._

_"**Ay**-ya- **ah** -ha **hu** hay_

_**May **the** eel**-wolves **guide** your **way**_

_**May** your **spir**it **fin**ally **lay**_

_**Down** its **bur**den **'neath** the **waves**_

_**Ay**-ya-** ah** -ha **hu** hoh_

_**Th'an**cient **coil**-ed **beasts** of **old**_

_**They** will **hear** your **stor**ies **told **_

_**Now** un**wind **your **wear**y** soul**__ . . ."_

_ The slow, pounding trochaic verses of the dirge, accompanied by beats from sealskin drums, continued long after the ships had passed back out of sight.  
_

_For every time he wished his father would come home, he also gave thanks that he did not come home._

_And blessedly, Hakoda never disappointed him.  
_

l

At his allegation, Zuko looked away. The words of Gow, the Earth Kingdom soldier, came back to him. "_You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners? Dressed them up in Fire Nation uniforms and put them on the frontline unarmed, way I heard it. Then they just _watched._"_

"All I can tell you is that I'll try my best to change my Nation." Zuko said quietly as he took the blades.

They were silent for a moment.

Sokka's eyes wandered back to the swords. "I do wish I could learn some different techniques. Then I wouldn't feel-" He stopped.

"What?"

"So useless. I mean-" he sighed. "I want to be a great warrior, like my dad, y'know?"

l

_Hakoda's thick boots crunched into the freshly fallen snow as his son tagged along behind him. _

_"In two weeks?" The boy asked. _

_"Yes."_

_A woman with twin braids sticking out of either side of her parka hood approached them. "Chief," she bowed respectfully, "I want to go. I have no children to take care of here. I know my husband would not want me leaving, but-"_

_Hakoda's face grew weary. "Your husband would not want you risking your life after he gave his."_

_"Please," The woman said, "his memory lingers here, haunting me. I can become a fighter. Would I not still be honoring him, continuing his legacy? I can do it. I want to do it. I will work just as hard-"_

_"Battle is no place for women, Nakasa. You will stay. And that is my final decision."_

_She looked back down and her shoulders sagged._

_"My mother encouraged you to ask, didn't she?"_

* * *

_"Why are you always trying to tell dad what to do?" Sokka asked his grandmother as they sat in their igloo._

_She looked up from the patterns she was busy carving into a turtle-walrus shell. "What?"_

_"You're always trying to run everything." The little boy continued petulantly. "But he's the chief."_

_"You do not think I can provide insight, little one?" The eldest member of the tribe gave a small smile._

_"Insight, maybe," he repeated carelessly, "but he's in charge. If he says Nakasa can't go, she shouldn't."_

_Kanna sighed. "Sokka, I'm not going to argue with him any more, __not because I think it's right to exclude her," She put down her tools and scooted closer to him, hugging him gently, "but __because I don't want to have the last of my son's time here marred by strife."__  
_

* * *

_"I'm coming with you."  
_

_**"**You're not old enough to go to war, Sokka, you know that."_

_"I'm strong! I'm brave! I can fight! Please, Dad!"_

_**"**Being a man," Hakoda told the young boy, "is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now that's here, protecting your sister."_

_**"**I don't understand."_

_**"**Someday you will."_

_But right then, he felt as ineffectual as a woman.  
_

l

_" . . ._ I promised him I would keep Katara safe." He snorted bitterly to himself. "But Katara is amazing. And I'm just me."

"I could say the same thing about Azula." Zuko shook his head. "I don't know what she did with my father when he was training her, but it scared the _fire _out of me."

Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"She began training with my father when she was still really young, in _addition_ to her other tutors." Zuko murmured, almost to himself. "I was the _elder son_. But if I had said anything about it, I would have ended up with _this_ a lot sooner." He pointed to his face. "Even back_ then_, I wanted to live with the _illusion_ that he would ever really consider me his heir."

There was a moment as Sokka shifted nervously.

"Well, let's just say . . . that I can identify with wanting to please a father. Even if you have the worst one in history."

Zuko relaxed slightly and their eyes met briefly before returning to the sand.

The two teenagers then returned to the group to get back to sleep. The Si Wong was as harsh as the tundra, in its own way. Both landscapes were unforgiving as Sokka's accusation. But the quiet breeze that rolled down the hills gave promise for a little understanding between the two boys.


	14. Mooselion

_**Author's Note: You remember the Moose-lion scene? Of course you do. You're a hardcore Avatar fan. If you are a particularly perceptive one you noticed that I omitted it from Aang's earthbending lesson, where it happens in the show. And you might have already guessed what I have planned for it . . . ;) Of course, logically, they are in a different place, and it wouldn't happen exactly the same way, but since when has that been a problem for fanfiction? **_

_**As a point of interest, I've heard seen his name spelled Foofoocuddlypoofs as often as Foofoocuddlypoops. XD But the former is what is listed in the Avatar Wiki.**_

_**And after all the serious-Sokka praise, maybe we need a little bit of funny Sokka again, doncha think? :3 Cue sardonic exposition!  
**_

**What Meets the Eye**

"It's hard to tell before their giant teeth and horns grow in." –Aang

**Chapter 14: Moose-lion**

_Predator and Prey. Hunter and Hunted. _

_The Water Tribe native crouched in a tree, poised and ready for his wily prey. His pitiless eyes gazed down upon his victim._

"You're awfully cute, but unfortunately for _you,_ you're made of meat. . . Just a bit closer-"

"HAAAAA!" _He leaped from his hiding place with the mighty warrior's cry and_-

. . . . . got stuck.

Sokka squirmed back and forth. _How_ exactly had he gotten up to his elbows in earth?

The little brown big-nosed animal could not answer this question, but it nonetheless peered at him with curiosity.

"You are one _lucky_ meat creature." Sokka said flatly.

The meat creature's tail wagged, as if affirming its good fortune.

After a while, it had found the sparse hair on the would-be hunter's head irresistible and it climbed up on his head.

"You probably think I deserve this, don't you?" The cub looked upside down at him with big black eyes. "Look, I'm sorry I hunted you, but that's just the natural order of things! Big things eat smaller things, nothing personal! But this time it didn't work out that way."

The cub gave a wide blunt-toothed yawn, unconcerned with the musings on the organization of the universe, and circled like a fox-lynx would before settling down to take a nap.

"I admit it. You're cute." He paused. "_Okay_, you've convinced me. If I get out of this alive, it's a comically correct vegetarian existence for me. _No _meat. Even though meat is _so tasty_."

As if now inspired and galvanized by his words, the cub hopped down from his perch and trotted off.

It returned with an apple, an induction to his newfound life path.

"Hey! It looks like my karma is already paying off!"

It rolled it towards him.

"That's okay! I got it!" Sokka tried to reach the apple, but to no avail. The apple had stopped about a foot away, out of reach. A bad omen.

The cub soon found that his hair was not only a comfortable bed, but an incredibly entertaining toy. He began to tug at the wolftail.

"Okay karma person or thing, whoever's in charge of this stuff, if I can just get out of this situation alive, I will give up meat _and_ sarcasm. Okay? OW!" The wolftail had now become a disorderly array, really more like a boar-q-pine's quills. "That's all I got!" he implored to the sky. "It's pretty much my whole identity! Sokka, the meat and sarcasm guy! But I'm willing to be Sokka the veggies and straight talk fellow-"

"You really mean that?" A giggle sounded.

"Oh, uh, Ty Lee? Um . . ."

She stepped lightly towards him, hands held behind her back. "'Cause I kinda_ like_ the sarcasm."

He laughed. "Well, it's good to be appreciated."

"And who's your friend?"

"His name is Foofoocuddlypoofs."

Ty Lee smiled. "Foo Foo. It's a _pleasure_ to make your acquaintance. Though how you tolerate _Sokka's_ company I will never know." She picked up the cub and nestled him in the crook of her arm.

"Ha. Ha. I thought _I_ was the sarcasm man around here."

"Well, if you're keeping that trait then I guess you have to stick to your promise of giving up the other." Her silver eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Well-" he stuttered, "I- um-"

"You don't want to, do you?" Her face fell slightly.

He waved his hands as much as the crevice he was wedged in would allow. "Look, it's not that I don't respect your and Aang's decision . . ."

"Hmmmm." She put on a show of studying him intently. "I suppose, technically you promised to give up sarcasm _after_ you promised to become a vegetarian. So the promise to become vegetarian . . ."

"-could be sarcasm?" His voice rose hopefully.

She gave a high, tinkly laugh at the utterly relieved look that graced his features and absently rubbed the head of the cub in her arms.

But her amused laughter was interrupted by a not-so-amused snort of the cub's mother.

She had been so wrapped up in their banter she hadn't even noticed the approach of the malignant presence.

"Oh Spirits." Sokka said, color draining from his face.

Ty Lee didn't move, side facing the animal, knowing that turning towards it would be a challenge. She fended off tension in her own voice. "Sokka, you've got to calm down." She said, reassuringly. "You're energy's pulsing too much. Think . . . well, I think of blue, 'cause that's the color your aura needs to be. But anything that settles you down."

"So you're telling me you have a power that can make that thing go away?" He tried to talk calmly as the hulking animal pawed the ground and growled menacingly.

"I'm not sure." This was _not_ the tame vulture griffin at the circus.

Sokka shut his eyes. "I think blue will do fine for me, Ty Lee . . . it's where I was raised, after all . . ."

Ty Lee slowly lowered the cub to the ground once its own energy had settled a bit and the cub's yellow aura expanded joyfully at the sight of its mother. It skipped to her side, but the red around the huge beast wasn't diminishing.

It wasn't working. Ty Lee was fighting back panic. She didn't have_ nearly_ enough raw power to-

The moose-lion's aura blazed in warning a moment before it charged.

She bolted to meet it.

"Ty Lee!" Sokka opened his eyes when he felt the _whoosh _of her disappearing feet.

Everything was moving in slow motion. The thing _towered_ over her small, slight figure as they drew closer together. She jumped with just enough height to flip forward, sailing between the huge antlers, and ram her heel, straight-legged, into the base of its firm, muscular neck. _Too_ firm.

She pushed off as hard as her aching knee would allow and landed behind it. She wobbled. The impact had done as much damage to her as it. It continued to amble forward stubbornly, claws digging for traction. If it didn't get _them_ into the boy, it would crush him if it fell forward.

She spun and thrust a whole fist into its thigh, then, still moving along its massive side, went for its shoulder, which would hopefully take it down. It lashed out sideways with both one antler and a claw, and she managed to duck, but as her other fist made contact it caught her calf with its swipe. It teetered towards the now-numb side she had attacked, and she managed to scramble away before it fell on top of her.

"Ty Lee!" Sokka's voice rose an octave at the red gashes. "It's fine." She managed to get out through small gasps. "She didn't get the tendon." The Achilles tendon. She struggled to her feet and took a few tentative steps.

"Wait! You need to bandage that!"

"I've got to go get help, Sokka." She said in a clipped, pained voice. "You're still stuck. She's not going to stay down long."

"_**IT**__ just sliced you up, and you have the gall to call it a SHE?_" His voice cracked shrilly.

She faced him for a split second, eyes steely grey and determined. "Yes."

* * *

She ran, if stumbling along with a bloody calf and a hyper-extended knee could be called running. Urgency still emblazoned her every move.

Toph, predictably, saw her coming first. "Katara! Get over here!"

The two benders hurried to her as she finally let herself fall. "Toph, _you have to go get Sokka!_" Ty Lee pointed back, and her chi did something it had never done before. It flew from her hand and hurtled through the air, reaching Sokka and illuminating him to the blind girl.

"Whoa-" Toph breathed, stunned.

"Go, Go!" Ty Lee urged her, equally as shocked but more alarmed at the prospect of the moose-lion struggling back to its feet. The earthbender took off.

"Now, let me see that." Katara leaned over her towards the red that was starting to harden and darken on her leg.

"If you d-don't mind, Katara, I'd rather y-you did my hands f-first." She held out her fingers and Katara noticed that they had turned purple and swollen- broken knuckles. The waterbender immediately immersed them in water.

"What happened?"

"T-that's what I get for punching s-something with muscles as h-hard as rock."


	15. Damaged

_**Ummmm . . . I'm not sure why I separated this into two chapters . . . but anyway . . .**_

**What Meets the Eye**

**Chapter 15: Damaged  
**

Katara had her healing hands full. Ty Lee had put all the force she could muster into her blows against the moose-lion, nearly shattering her hands and causing minute stress fractures in her arms and leg. Ty Lee explained to her what happened.

"Your fighting style is designed specifically to deal with humans." Katara observed as she moved water slowly from her hand to her shoulder. "It wasn't meant to take down something like that."

"N-nope." Ty Lee answered, focusing on her answer to ward off pain, now that the adrenaline and endorphins were wearing off. "B-but since I can sense chi, I could at least tell the points I needed to hit. Most people who learn the technique just have to memorize where to strike on people. L-lucky, I guess."

"Luck," Katara repeated, "and _pluck,_" she rhymed as she finished her second arm. "The _messes _my brother can get himself in." She shook her head in exasperation as she started on her leg. Ty Lee tried not to move too much as she giggled.

"There. I think that should do it." Katara offered her a hand and she stood.

Sokka came pounding through the trees, shouting like a madman. "Ty Lee! Ty Lee! Are you okay?"

Toph came after him, grumbling. "'_Thanks for bending me out of the ground Toph.' 'Hey, no problem, Sokka._'" She carried on the mock conversation in annoyance.

Ty Lee turned to him. "Are _you_ okay?" she replied.

Sokka skidded to a halt in front of her and looked her up and down. "D-did Katara . . .?"

"Yeah." Ty Lee was caught by surprise as he flung his arms around her. "Spirits, Spirits . . ." he muttered in agitation, eyes shut tightly.

Ty Lee returned the hug. "I-I'm all _right_, Sokka." She released him, but he continued to cling to her, eyes still closed. "I-It was happening a-all over a-again," he whispered, "I-I couldn't d-do anything t-to protect y-you . . ."

Her eyes widened as she remembered the moon spirit.

"It's all right, Sokka," She once again embraced him and began to rub at his back and murmur to him softly, reassuringly. "It's okay . . . I'm _fine,_ ssshhh, everything's all right . . ."

Katara had averted her gaze self-consciously, but Toph had no such ability. Her pale skin colored as their energy twined around each other, her chi flowed soothingly against him, and his frantic heartbeat gradually slowed.

"Y-you're _sure_ you're okay?" He asked her one last time as he pulled back.

Silver eyes met blue ones and he flushed as well, just then really registering their close proximity.

"Sokka, my aura has _never_ been pinker."


	16. Unblocking Chi

**What Meets the Eye**

"I will always be with you." -Yue

"Love is a form of energy, and it is all around us. Love that past ones have for you and you for them does not leave the world. It is reborn in the form of new love." –Guru Pathik

**Chapter 16: Unblocking Chi**

The professor wandered the corridors of the library, picking up book after book and reading for hours on end. Underground, in the deep parts of the structure, there was no night and day, only the green crystals, and he would have to squint to be able to see text, unless he ferried his materials to the upper levels.

Wan Shi Tong had informed him that a certain fox, named Peto, would be bringing him food, and that he would certainly know which fox he was.

The great owl had made it clear that until the Avatar had successfully defeated the Fire Lord, his library would remain a secret, and Zei obligingly stayed to wait. He declined the Avatar's offer to bring him back out of the desert. Where would he go, anyway? He had left Ba Sing Se University for the very reason of censorship, and now he was up to his nose in the most extensive, detailed, and unabridged collection of information anywhere.

Zei literally hadn't seen the owl since the Avatar and his company had left weeks ago, and he simply told himself that there was no reason the reclusive bird should be obligated to spend any time with him. But he wondered occasionally if he was still altogether welcome.

He had met Peto shortly after the owl had left him to his own devices. The fox was exactly the same color and size as all the others; the only difference was that he had six tails. He had grown quite attached to the professor, following him around. Other foxes occasionally joined him as well, interested in the new company of the place that had stood empty for so long. All the spirit canines could read; the scrolls they filched from the outside world were as often as not their choices of what to bring to their home. The head kitsune had tried to demonstrate his favorite sections and topics to the man.

But Zei was on a very specific line of investigation.

Right now he was settled, stroking Peto absently with one hand as he poured over a volume about the air nomads' customs of traveling. His own notebook lay around him, many pages spread out across the floor. Indigo ink made boxes and brackets around the older black characters. He had been diligently copying Aang's tales onto more permanent scrolls, organizing and converting them from shorthand to proper prose and cross-referencing to books he ferreted out.

During winter, the book outlined, was when most of them left their high-altitude temples, seeking warmer climates, but without fail they always returned to stay by summertime and their native season, fall-

He tapped a finger on the word "summer," frowning sadly.

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the owl's harsh voice. "You will have to put all these back when you are done." He waved a wing, indicating the several books neatly stacked around the professor.

Two spirit foxes, nearby, one with two tails, dipped their heads, as if acknowledging an order. But Peto growled disapprovingly.

"I don't want you to do it anymore, Peto. He must do it for himself."

The professor put his hand on the fox's shoulder blades and rubbed him. "It's fine, Peto. I don't mind." He stood and bowed respectfully to Wan Shi Tong. "I am simply honored to be able to read them."

But the kitsune continued to glare after the owl as he gave no acknowledgment to Zei's gesture and left.

* * *

The Gaang, for its own part, was glad to finally be out of the Si Wong. They had relished the abundant flora that had been missing, spending much more time on the ground and Aang had resumed his training in earnest.

Iroh, in preparation for becoming his third Master, was observing the Avatar's lessons. After giving Zuko a lecture about learning from other elements to strengthen and expand his own bending skill, he had convinced his nephew to watch as well.

Aang continued to struggle with earth, a few times even losing his root completely and having to dive out of the way of oncoming assaults much like his first lesson. Toph at first was still very abrasive in reprimanding him, but gradually became a bit more understanding at both Ty Lee's and Katara's insistence. Changing a fighting style that you had used for your entire life- despite how short the life was- was difficult.

"None of us could really remember a time when we couldn't at least _sense_ the air around us." The monk was saying, talking about his single-gender, communal pre-iceburg experiences.

The five benders of the group were gathered together as Aang took a break, wiping sweat from his brow. The new surroundings had proven a different sort of challenge. His sifu wasn't impeded at all by the grass that was sandwiched between her feet and her element. For him, however, it was just another obstacle he was having to adjust for.

"Well, actually," he amended, "there was this one boy- Jinju- he said he could." He frowned. "Some of the others were really mean to him after he told us." he rubbed his neck self-consciously. "But Rychen always made sure that no one said anything mean when he was around. He kinda like the unofficial leader of our class. Anyway . . . even small breezes- now, sometimes we didn't get that down until we were, like, five."

Katara nodded. "I'd say I started to bend when I was six- reliably, I mean. Before that I had sometimes been able to move water, but not always right when I wanted to."

Toph smirked. "Please. I started bending when I was three."

Katara scowled at her.

"You might be a special case, though." Aang laughed. "Bumi said he really started bending when he was five, too."

"Firebenders start out by influencing other flame." Iroh said. "That usually happens a while before they can produce their own. Sometimes the gap can be up a year or so. I seem to remember one of Ty Lee's younger sisters- Hira, being very upset that she couldn't make her own fire. Ty Lee asked Azula to try and help her."

"I wonder how Ty Lee and Sokka are doing." Aang said idly.

* * *

Sokka had showed little to no interest in watching Aang. He had his own training to begin- namely, Kyoto Jutsu. He had taken Ty Lee up on her offer to teach him. He was actually a lot more serious about improving himself than most of the group gave him credit for, just like back at Suki's dojo.

"When you strike on the limbs," the acrobat was explaining to him, "it's better to use straightened fingers." She made chopping motions with her hands- "and when you strike anywhere on the trunk of the body, it's better to use knuckles, because those are larger passageways of chi."

"Okay." Sokka nodded.

"You want the blows to be hard, but you should try to push your target back as little as possible, because then you'll have to readjust to find the points again. The more quick and precise you are, the less they move and the less guessing you have to do. The chi from benders has multiple points that only cut off bending and not movement . . . and chi from non-benders has the same points . . ."

She coached him through each of the points, and he attempted to strike her arms to make them go limp. After several tries, he was getting frustrated.

"I might just not have it in me, Ty Lee. Can we just spar?"

In truth, Sokka the warrior really was itching to prove himself after losing to her before. The first time he had been carrying a baby, so he excused himself for that. The second time, he had still known very little about her style. But he did know now, where she would be aiming for, and he thought that, combined with his hand-to-hand experience with Suki, he would be able to at least hold his own.

"Think you can beat me again? It's time for a rematch, anyway." He challenged.

The cheerful girl, however, was completely oblivious to the boy's prideful provocation, meant to get a rise out of her. She just smiled and shrugged. "Okay."

So when they faced each other and she began her onslaught, he was satisfied when he could block her thrusts. She danced around him, still much more agile, but he fended her off with a solid footing and a sure placement of hands. But as he caught the outside of her hands with his forearms and diverted them, he suddenly thought, _wait, so how am I going to stop her?_ He couldn't just keep blocking. Eventually she would find an opening.

As he pondered this he studied the way she could come to a dead stop next to him and try a volley of thrusts. Once she was that close, he realized, she expected to land at least one blow. The weakness in her form lay in her subsequent retreat, then.

_" . . . you should try to push your target back as little as possible, because then you'll have to readjust to find the points again. The more quick and precise you are, the less shifting they do and the less guessing you have to do."_

Maybe her ability to sense chi didn't put as big a handicap on her for moving targets, but it would have to be slightly more difficult. The question was only whether he could pull off trying to dart around like her. He started taking slightly wider steps, and suddenly, as he parried one of her arms upward, he leaned to the side and hooked his left foot around her left ankle, yanking forward. She stumbled with a startled squeak. He then grabbed her wrist and pushed forward, furthering her backwards momentum and she landed on the ground on his left beside him. It wasn't a complete pin, but it was something.

"Ha! I got you!" He proclaimed triumphantly as he let go of her.

"Yeah! That was good." She said brightly as she sat up.

Did she not get that she had just been taken down?

But she simply smiled at him. She was not being competitive. It was a little disorienting for him, who was used to his abilities being belittled by benders- well, _one_ bender in particular- a certain twelve year old. And the last time he had trained hand-to-hand, well, _that_ girl had still been trying to win somewhat of an ego war. It was kind of like leaning against a wall, expecting it to stay in place, and have it fall in on you.

"Want to go for another round?" She asked in a conversational, not confrontational, voice.

"Sure."

They ended up doing two more rounds. The second time, she paralyzed his arm but he kept going. The third time, she managed to paralyze his leg and he called 'uncle, uncle,' waving a hand, knowing that he couldn't manage with just one appendage.

When they took a break, he padded over to where he had set down his boomerang, club, and bag and took out some small chips of cured meat to snack on.

"I still can't believe you went back to that Mooselion to make sure it was all right, I mean, after what it did to you." He commented.

"She was just trying to protect Foo Foo, Sokka." She teased. "But in a way you're right, I didn't have to. She was a tough old girl." She said it with a hint of pride.

He laughed at her tone. "And I'm supposed to _respect_ that about her?" He turned over the food in his hands. "She was so huge . . . she might have fed the village for a month." He said to himself.

l

_A young Katara was busily working at a hide, the _scritch scritch_ of her whalerib scraper becoming more and more pronounced as she cleared away excess fat from the sheet. She glanced over to her brother, who was sectioning off blubber and meat, wearing thin working gloves that he didn't mind getting stained with blood. He would have to stop and dry his hands and the gloves themselves soon. Working with soaked material for any unreasonable amount of time meant frostbitten hands.  
_

_Around them, women and children were similarly engaged, deconstructing the rest of the large carcass. Slabs of meat were being hung up and prepared for curing, bones were being washed and dried. By his estimation, it would last them all two weeks.  
_

_It was a familiar scene, except for one thing._

_Katara set her tool down. Even then, her voice had already gained hints of maternal tendencies. "You know, you should take a break, Sokka," she admonished.  
_

_"Don't be such a worrywart." He replied, unusually tersely.  
_

_In this first major hunting trip- since their father and all the men had left- five of the middle-aged women of the tribe had accompanied him to go after the turtlewalrus. They were aggressive and extremely difficult to kill because of their shells, but their fat had the highest oil content for burning wicks and they were easily the most delicious thing to eat in the whole South Pole. Sokka had always been perfectly comfortable playing subordinate to the men when they went out to hunt. Now that they were gone the remaining female adults necessarily had to step up and take their place, it just didn't seem right. He couldn't say what the difference was. Besides that they were women.  
_

_She frowned. "Why does it bother you so much, Sokka?"_

_"I don't know . . ." the little boy couldn't figure out how to say the words. "it just . . . they shouldn't have to help."  
_

_"It's just like Gran-Gran says, Sokka." Katara lectured. "When a pack of polarbeardogs hunts, they don't leave the girls behind. They all do their share."_

_Sokka didn't reply.  
_

_"-and you can't expect to do it all by yourself, right?" She stood and moved over to him. After all, not one person was in their individual tents, and no one would be until all the tasks were finished. "Right?" She took his knife and set it down, hugging him. "We all have to do this together."_

l

"Hey Sokka?" Ty Lee asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Will you tell me about the Poles? I've only seen snow twice before. Aren't they completely covered with it?"

The nobleman's daughter fired volley after volley of questions at him, unacquainted with his simplistic way of life. She had heard little if anything about the ways of the Water Tribes, but she was sure that the people of the Fire Nation thought of them as savages. Maybe, she found herself thinking, she had believed that once, too. She hadn't really thought about it, up until now. But now she did remember that the Academy had definitely had a less than stellar representation of them.

He launched into a description of the South, with all the young wide-eyed faces, and the magnificent city of the North, with roads of water and towering ice buildings. Her silver eyes shone at the fanciful descriptions, but her face fell sadly as he made clear the discrepancy between the two Tribes. But then he went back to talking of home and all the fun he and Katara used to have together, even when their parents were gone. Topics stayed neatly out of his method of procuring food. Her queasiness from the first time he had offered her something to eat had not abated in the least.

"So Sokka, do I look good in blue?" She asked finally, fiddling with the hem of her outfit which displayed said color.

She had been wearing many of Katara's sets of clothing since she had joined with them, only having the one pink outfit on her person. She had also gotten hold of changes of clothes in a few of the small towns they had stopped at, but they were a dull tan and Katara had insisted that she instead wear her vivid tribal garments instead. The two girls, who were rapidly becoming very close, had tittered over plans to get her some of her own outfits when they got to Onto.

He blushed and swallowed. "W-well yeah."

He felt like he was melting under the smile now.

After that he somehow already knew that he had no chance of keeping a clear mind and fending her off any more when they stood again and resumed training. It still kind of took him by surprise when he ended up numb on his back, though.

He chuckled up at the sky. "You know, this is so weird, because this doesn't feel the same as when that bounty hunter paralyzed us."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, bending over to peer at him with silver interest.

"There was this woman who rides a big mole-creature-"

"A badger-mole?" her eyebrows knitted together.

"No." He would have face-palmed at the mere memory of the 'song-loving' beasts and his musically-inclined nomad companions had he not been chi blocked. "This thing had a really long tongue like a whip that stuns you."

"Oh! A _shirshu!_ You've _seen_ one?" She exclaimed delightedly, fists squeezed together under her chin.

"Yup. And when it paralyzes you, you can't feel anything. But this," he nodded down towards himself, "is different 'cause I can feel all the grass under me."

"Oh _really_ . . ." she smiled slyly, kneeling and leaning in closer to him, her eyes half lidded. "Can you feel _this_ . . .?" but then she stopped, face inches from his.

"Your- your energy is still constricting." She whispered sadly.

"W-what?" he asked, breath coming quickly and shallowly.

"Around your h-heart." Her voice wobbled, "And the center of your back."

She was seeing the Air Chakra, of love, still blocked by grief. Sokka was still grieving for Yue, after hearing about her in the Library.

And the Water Chakra, of pleasure, still blocked by guilt. His thoughts were still spinning around Suki because he was using her fighting style.

"Can't you," he said hesitantly, "ya know, _tell_ if . . ." Could she tell by his aura whether he was in love? " . . . I like you?"

She sighed, running her hand down her braid. "Well actually . . . when we were at the Academy, girls dated sometimes. But there were so many different colors- there was green and dark green and pink and purple and even sometimes orange . . ."

l

_Bouquets of fire lilies, each wrapped in their own cover of lace which would be discarded within a few days lay in a pile on the dressing room table. Eight figures bumped into each other occasionally- but that was less a function of the spatial volume of the room and more of the time. Several highly polished mirrors, rimmed with extraneous and overblown twisting metal designs that did nothing to assist their function were set up at different angles around a short podium, where a sixteen-year-old stood in a red dress. Two servants were busy pinning up tresses at her sides and no less than six girls who had the exact same mousy brown hair were crowding around her. Several of them, including a certain eleven-year-old, were chatting excitedly._

_"The wedding is going to be gorgeous, Meili."  
_

_"Can I do your hair, please?"_

_"Do you like your new house?"  
_

_ "Oh my gosh, he's so handsome, Meili."_

_The thirteen-year-old of the group suddenly said loudly, "But you don't love him!"  
_

_Everyone went silent at the accusation.  
_

_Meili turned from her reflection. "Yunru, we've already been through this. Why does it matter? He's been very kind to me, and he's a good friend of the family. Father is so happ-"_

_"Yeah, yeah." The other girl frowned. She was leaning against the wall, away from the rest, watching the proceedings with her arms crossed in disapproval. "Whatever **dad **says, right, sis?"  
_

_Meili turned away.  
_

l

"You're running through so many colors right now-" the acrobat glanced around him, "and-"

She shifted from her knees to sit properly to wait for the blocks her jutsu had inflicted to clear, folding her hands on her lap, giving off silver melancholy. "It looks like . . . I'm just making it worse," she murmured dejectedly.

He closed his eyes. Why was it so- _second nature_ to tell her about Yue, but when he thought of telling her about Suki he cringed?

Maybe it was because Suki was still out there- well, within the realm of the living, so to speak. Maybe it was because he had never sorted out his feelings towards the Kyoshi warrior. He had forgotten her so easily at the North Pole, even though he had thought about her frequently before then. But maybe that was just because she had such a big impact on him- after all her village had been the first he had seen outside his own, and she the first girl his age he had even been on talking terms with.

She had given him a clear message that had somehow resounded where his sister's and grandmother's years of insistent wheedling had simply bounced off-

l

"I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior."

**"**I _am_ a warrior. But I'm a _girl_, too."

l

But had he ever really considered going back to Kyoshi, just for her, _before_ the North Pole? Had he even been thinking about what he would do _after_ the war? He wasn't even thinking about that _now._ When they had gone to Kyoshi the second time, gathering evidence to prove Aang's innocence to the people of Chin Village, he had wanted to see her again. And he had been disappointed when she wasn't there. But he hadn't dwelt on it. He thought more about Yue more than anything else. What if Suki settled somewhere else, now that she was gone? What if he never saw her again? Did she expect him to look for her?

And Yue . . . _was_ he ready to let her go?

The condition of his body seemed to parallel his thoughts. He was stuck, unable to make any move. But as the operation of his limbs gradually trickled back into him, his thoughts seemed to parallel that as well.

He knelt, gently cupping her chin, and pulled her towards him.

Her hands found his shoulders and he leaned into the kiss, running his fingers along her jawbone. His other hand came to her back, and a tingle went through it. He pulled away in surprise.

She smiled. "So you could feel it then, that collection of energy in the middle of the back? Yours is flowing better now, too." She softly formed her mouth around his and put her hand at the same place on him, and it felt as if the contacts had suddenly become fluid, as if there was no division. When she came away he immediately wanted the sensation to return.

"Y-you did s-something." He stuttered. "It kinda felt like . . . when I was stuck- I felt you then, too."

"Yeah. With meditation you can learn to control the chi in your body to some extent. But I had never done anything like that before." She smiled. "I made it travel really far."

"So you really _do _have _powers_," he purred in a low tone as pulled her in closer again.


	17. Regret

_**After writing this chapter, I will forever refer to Kataang as "Twinkle-Queen" in my mind. (and maybe the dreaded Zutara as Sparkle-Queen, just for kicks and giggles.)**_

_**Here I ask the question: What do we name our dear old ostrich-horse? Put your suggestions in reviews! (New people reading this story, I will certainly retroactively modify it if someone comes up with something good! :D)**_

_**Also, I'm sticking it to Shyamalan. **__***Firebenders not being able to produce fire?***__** What bull-antelope-pucky is this! **_**]:-|**

_**I will say this once. Iroh. Should. Have. Been. Aang's. Firebending. Teacher! **_

_**Okay, maybe I'll say it more.**_

'_**Cause it needs to be said.**_

_**I let Zuko take over some of the instruction only out of the sheer goodness of my heart. (okay, and my inner Zukaang friendshipper)**_

_**Plus I get some Irko on the side.**_

_**Mmmmmm. **_

**What Meets the Eye**

"'I once had a long conversation with the guy- and all he would talk about was you.'

'Really?'

**'**Yeah, and it was kind of annoying.'

'Oh, sorry . . .'

**'**But it was also very sweet.'"

-Toph and Zuko, _Book 3 Chapter 17: The Ember Island Players_

"Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending so I don't hurt people unintentionally." -Zuko,_ Book 3 Chapter 12: The Western Air Temple _

**Chapter 17: Regret**

"So when _I _try to take Aang to train, you object, but you _tell _Iroh to take him." Katara spat to Toph. "He's barely even started earthbending."

"Aang's pretty much _mastered_ waterbending, Queeny. I heard you say it yourself a few weeks ago."

"Listening in on us again-"

"_And_ it's important that he learn _firebending_ as soon as possible because he's going to be _fighting firebenders._ Duh. Who knows when we might run into more of them?"

Sokka rolled his eyes. Would the bickering never end?

* * *

In the vast library, Zei was a tiny figure. He was fast asleep, head propped against one of the hard shelves. In his eagerness, he always read until his eyes drooped, and fought sleep until his body forced him to shut down.

Peto was curled up next to him, and an ear twitched. He raised his head groggily to see Wan Shi Tong standing over them.

But as soon as he saw the fox stir the giant avian had started to move away.

Peto wiggled out from under Zei's arm and yipped at his master.

"I was just . . . passing by." The owl said dismissively over his shoulder, executing a stiff ninety degree angle his neck easily achieved, displaying only half of his face.

The fox snorted lightly. The Spirit was lying. He had been standing there for some time, watching over the professor.

"Wrrrrruff," he accused.

"Hmpf." The owl's head turned away again.

The fox scampered towards him and stood in his path. He barked and whined, making a request.

"All right." Wan Shi Tong relented. He lifted his wing and the professor rose from his place. Several cushions appeared under him and he was lowered back down.

The fox smiled knowingly up at the owl.

Wan Shi Tong, maintaining a disaffected air, brushed past him and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

The three firebenders were absent. Iroh had insisted on Zuko teaching Aang the first steps of their craft, because 'The best way to really learn something is to teach it.' But first, he inquired of Aang's previous experience with their form.

"My first master was Jeong Jeong." Aang told him.

"I cannot say I know him well." Iroh said, a hand at his chin. "I believe he served in the eastern Earth Kingdom before he left the army. That was maybe- fourteen? Fifteen?- years ago . . ."

"He seemed to think that fire was inherently . . . well, evil." Aang said quietly. "But . . . in my time, the Fire Nation was just as peaceful as the next Nation."

Iroh bowed his head sadly. "Unfortunately, today it is widely believed in our country, and by extension the other Nations, that only anger and aggression, the desire to destroy, can fuel flame. I believed this as well, before I met Ran and Shao, the dragons."

"They showed me that fire is the force of life." He stated. "It responds to your desires and your purpose. Any kind of passion or conviction will do, if powerful enough. Later, I did my best to spread this idea in the Order without compromising the dragons' secrecy. The Order is supposed to be a rallying point of unity- where people _who know nothing about each other _can come together with confidence, under one guise, one trust. But sometimes even it has its inner conflicts."

At this statement, Aang winced. He was supposed to be the being where all the elements came together. But he had his own inner conflict as well. "Sifu . . .?" he said timidly.

"Yes?"

"I-I don't know if I'm ready to . . . When I first handled fire . . . I . . . burned Katara. Pretty badly."

Iroh's brow furrowed, deep in thought. "Were you very angry at her?"

Aang's head shot up, eyes wide. "_No. Not at all_." He almost pleaded. "I was just really excited to firebend."

"Hmmm." Iroh closed his eyes, further retreating into his contemplations. "Was it not your own fire you were manipulating, then?"

Aang cocked his head. "Well, it was set by Jeong Jeong. But I . . . was holding it, if that's what you mean."

"I see. Does she have any scars?" He asked gingerly.

Aang colored slightly. "N-no. She healed herself. In fact, that's when she learned to heal."

"Oh!" Iroh's face lit up as if something had clicked into place. "_Truly amazing_."

"Yeah." Aang smiled. "She's a great healer."

"And _that's_ why she was burned." Iroh said matter-of-factly.

Aang's face fell. "_**What?**_"

"Remember what I said. Fire is the force of life. It comes _from_ you. It responds to your desires and your purpose, your intentions, your spirit, more so than any other element. While it is true that fire has some force of its own, when it is under your control, it is very much a part of yourself."

He summoned his own flame and extended it between his hands, accordion-style. He stroked it with one hand, and it followed his fingers like a lithe fox-lynx arcing its back. "Zuko?"

The prince walked to him obligingly and outstretched a hand passively towards the flame as the Dragon flung his palm out and it sprang forward-

-and the blaze rubbed against the teen's skin harmlessly.

Aang gasped.

The elder firebenders both smiled at his reaction.

"If we do not burn _ourselves_ with our flame, would it not make sense that we also do not burn those closest to us?" Iroh asked as the flame receded from Zuko's arm.

"This property can be expanded with practice as well. Masters, if properly trained, can channel flame into only concussive blows, not causing burns at all, to _anyone_, even in the heat of conflict- this means their _mindset_ of attack is not as aggressive." He sighed, moving his own hand through the fire, which now had reverted to a simple palm shape. "But now, with our warlike culture, this is nowhere near as prized or valued a skill as it once was."

Now Aang's brow furrowed. "But wait. Jeong Jeong said that I might destroy things I love if I did not stay in control. And- I- I did-" He deflated, the memory coming back to him again.

"If completely blind anger was fueling your fire, that might've been the case. But see, he only perceives _physical_ control of the flame. Controlling the essence of the flame is different, and to some extent, inherent. The outcome of any contact is partially determined by your spirit and the spirit of the one it comes into contact with."

"Now-" he erased the fire with a flick of his wrist, "I asked you if you were handling the flame- instead of influencing some other source of flame- because fire you create yourself or have complete sway over is more likely to exhibit this restraint. Under most circumstances, I would expect that _your own_ fire would never burn Katara severely, just a hunch." He winked. "But even if your energy had fully suffused the flame he created, I am telling you that Katara was burned _because_ your spirit read that she could handle the injury, even if she was not aware of it yet. In fact, it's _purpose_ might have been to reveal her ability."

Aang's mouth hung open.

* * *

As Zuko demonstrated to and trained Aang, Iroh could tell the difference in his nephew's fire, and in his motions. He had watched this boy, as his flames sputtered with grief at the loss of his mother, grow into an adolescent whose flames gradually began to surge and jerk with rage. But now, his flame demonstrated the spirit of a confident _man._ Even if not a fully realized Master, teaching the Avatar was what he was meant to do.

Several hours later, the three firebenders returned to find only two people awaiting them.

Ty Lee was lying limply across Appa's neck on her back, demonstrating her reverse flexibility as she reached down to scratch his ear. Toph was "cloudgazing," with her hands tucked up under her head and knees bent.

"It is good to see someone getting a little rest." Iroh commented cheerily. Everyone had been training fairly hard. He himself had been gradually whittling away at his girth, inspired by the intense regimen of the youngsters.

Ty Lee rolled over onto her stomach. "Oh! You must have had a good session. All of your chi is moving so- freely."

"Yup." Toph agreed.

"Knowing the true nature of elements does that." Iroh replied sagely. "Where are the others?" he asked the two girls.

"Katara and Sokka went to go fishing." Ty Lee said. "Sokka said I probably wouldn't want to watch them . . . _prepare_ the fish. So I stayed behind."

"I know!" Aang said. "You can come with me to gather, then- I'm sure there are some leechy nut trees around here somewhere and who knows what else."

"You probably have a little more than an hour before it gets dark." Iroh said, looking up to the sky. "I will join you- perhaps I can find some tea ingredients as well."

"Uncle," Zuko groaned, "do we really need a repeat of the White Jade, or White Dragon, or whatever it was-"

"Don't worry, nephew, I'll stick to what I'm absolutely sure of. Camellia it is."

"Well, we _are _going back towards the healers that tended to you before." Zuko said dryly.

* * *

Ty Lee found herself learning of another simple way of life as she walked with Aang. The monks had extensive knowledge of vegetation from all around the world. The young boy had really only absorbed a very little bit of it, but to her, who had always only had contact with agricultured food, whether on expensive china plates or crude tin traveling dishware, it was fascinating. She listened to her two-year junior with respect.

She also asked Iroh about chakras, which she wanted to know more about. Aang also listened with interest. Ty Lee confirmed to him that what she was seeing in people was not simply chi 'flowing' and 'not flowing.' The chakras could be more open or more closed, in various degrees, depending on the person. She was surprised to find out that there was an actual state where someone could have completely free-moving chi- everyone she had ever come into contact with had some sort of eddy in their energy, even if minute.

"I believe that someone may only be able to achieve this state with the guidance of either a Spirit itself or someone who has already reached it." Iroh mused. "Ty Lee, have you always been able to track chi?"

"As early as I can remember." She replied. "Although it's-" she paused. "It's seemed to gain even a bit more clarity since I have been with all of you."

"And you do not have completely opened chakras, either."

"No. I do meditate a lot, but I've never totally unblocked them."

"Hmm, so then maybe the 'sight' is not reliant on having the chakras open, although I'm sure I have heard that opening them sometimes gives the sight . . ."

When that conversation was exhausted, Ty Lee and Aang began trading stories about different animals they had seen.

"Penguins are lots of fun!" he told her. "And they're a lot more tame than some things I've tried to ride." He laughed. "Like the Unagi."

Ty Lee gasped, "The _Unagi_? I thought that was just a myth."

"Oh, no, trust me, it's quite real. And-" He looked up to the sky. "You said you've seen lemurbats before?"

"Yeah, lots."

"There was this pirate who tried to get me to trade for Momo. I guess I didn't really think about the fact that he knew what he was."

l

"_I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur. That beast would fetch me a hefty sum."_

l

"I hope there are bison left, too," he whispered sorrowfully.

"I'm sure there are! We'll look for them one day." She reassured as she flipped forward to walk on her hands. Wanting to distract him from his sudden downturn in mood, she said, "I think the most beautiful animal back at the circus is probably our ligerdillo."

"You mean a _tigerdillo_?" Aang asked.

"No, see, he's a cross between a tigerdillo and an armadillo-lion."

"Oh, wow. I didn't know that could happen."

* * *

"They all spend so much time in the water. Snoozles, Queeny, and Twinkles." Toph griped to Zuko. She had not moved from her place and he was sitting across from her. "I hate being around the stuff. Any time I don't have completely solid ground under my feet-" She tapped one of her heels on the grass.

"Oh, well, I can't say I'm completely at home in _water_ either," the firebender replied. "And I don't know if sailing for all that time and fighting against the sea has improved my relationship with the element at all." he muttered sarcastically.

She laughed. "Yeah, I'd hate going on a boat."

"But I can't argue with the fish they always bring back," she said after a pause. "I do love fish. Granted, I wouldn't refuse some pan-seared garlic-topped filet with roasted peppers," the heiress finished.

"It's been a while since I was served a meal like that," the prince replied wistfully.

"But I don't mind it so much." Toph said. "There's a kind of- it kind of tastes better sometimes, that it's fresh from the river."

Zuko hummed and nodded thoughtfully.

"And it's definitely worth being rid of all the hovering attendants."

The scarred teen raised his single eyebrow. "Attendants?"

He appraised the casually positioned girl with new attention. Her posture said nothing of a high-class upbringing. Certainly the outfit she wore wasn't representative of nobility? He didn't know Earth Kingdom styles thoroughly- the garments were as diverse as the people themselves- but now that he thought about it, her clothes did look higher quality than most of the citizens he had encountered. And she did have the pearly pale skin of someone who definitely hadn't known labor.

"Yeah, I like being outside," She was replying to his query. "Having my own space, with no one _breathing_ down my neck."

"_I spent my whole life alone, holed up in a house that was more of a prison than a home." She had said to him._

Zuko tilted his head upwards, following her 'gaze,' as he remembered how much he liked to sneak out of the palace when he was young. He had had a fox-lynx when he was very little, and he would bring it outside, having shed his best clothes and adjusted his hair so no one would recognize him.

l

"_I used to be a lot like him once. A lot like you." he had said to Aang._

_More carefree. More joyful._

l

Toph returned to her original train of thought. "And I'm impressed that these guys know so much about surviving, I mean, if left on my own, I'd just have to get food by earning money."

"Yeah, they do know a lot . . ." The Fire Nation noble thought about _his_ induction to the humble refugee lifestyle with a frown. He had been so frustrated back then, not knowing what to do, how to make the wilderness work for him. He was- to use a bad pun- like a fish out of water. But the watertribe siblings and the nomad seemed to coax the most unexpected things out of the surrounding landscape- spitted badger-raccoons, succulent fish, pungent flavored grasses, thick tubers . . .

* * *

"See these long trains of leaves, right here, with the diamond shape?" Aang pulled at a thin vine. "If you strip off the tough ends like this, they're really good in stews."

"Oh, okay." Ty Lee watched him carefully. "Hey Aang, have you thought about giving the ostrich horse a name?"

"Besides Slowpoke?" Aang teased. The animal was magnitudes slower than Appa.

He finished removing the stems of the leaves and began to stuff them into a pouch.

* * *

Zuko ran his hand through his hair in agitation. Had he possessed half of their skills, maybe he and the ostrich horse wouldn't have been starving, and before _that_ he wouldn't have . . .

"Whoa, Lizard, your pulse just went crazy. You alright?"

"I'm fine."

She turned her head towards him, useless though the motion was. "No you're not. What's the matter?"

"It's nothing."

She sat up and smirked. "Am I going to have to throttle it out of you? Just _tell_ me."

He stood. "I said it's nothing." he mumbled, turning to walk away, to where precisely he didn't know, but-

An earthwall rose up to block him. She was not going to lose this battle of wills. "Come on, stop being so-"

Zuko spun on her and snapped, "_It's none of your business what I've done, okay?_"

Toph frowned.

She stomped towards him and raised herself up on an earth column to bring her sightless face up to his level. "_Listen_," she poked him in the chest, "I sat through the Twinkle-Queen rendition of all your little adventures- of _what you've done_." she said, reminding him of the stories the two had told back at the town where they had stopped for Zuko. "You attacked them several times. You threatened people. You did some damage. But despite all that, you're still here with us, _aren't you_? I can tell that whatever this is, you obviously feel bad about it. I'm not going to _judge_. So just _tell _me."

A moment passed before he answered her. "You know why we're going to Onto, right?"

"To return the ostrich-horse you stole."

"Yeah. And I stole a lot of other things too, _okay?_ Things that I can't give back because they're lost or used up or whatever. Not to mention I don't even know the people I stole all of it from-" he threw his hands up in exasperation. "I just didn't- I just didn't- know what to _do _with myself after we were marooned at the North Pole. I didn't have any of the knowledge all of them have."

l

_Iroh had told him, "To be honest with you, the best tea tastes delicious whether it comes in a porcelain pot or a tin cup. I know we've had some difficult times lately. We've had to struggle just to get by. But it's nothing to be ashamed of. There is a simple honor in poverty."_

l

"And that's when I left my uncle." Zuko continued quietly.

Toph listened to him carefully.

l

"_So where is your nephew?" she had asked Iroh as they drank their tea._

"_I've been tracking him, actually."_

"_Is he lost?"_

"_Yes, a little bit. His life has recently changed and he's going through very difficult times . . . he ran away . . . I know he doesn't want me around right now. But, if he needs me, I'll be there."_

l

So this is what he had been talking about.

"I stole all of those things, and when he tried to stop me, I left him. I thought I needed to be on my own. To find my own way." Zuko said.

_l_

"_He's trying to figure out who he is . . ." Iroh said._

_l_

"_I'm here because when I left, I was trying to remember who I was." Zuko had told the townspeople. "I told you all that I was prince of the Fire Nation. Heir to the throne. And maybe I am." _

"_But that's not all of who I am. I am a refugee. I am someone who is weary of seeing what the Fire Nation has done to this country . . ."_

* * *

"It was really sad-" Aang said solemnly, "they had Flopsie- he's King Bumi's gorilla goat- they had him chained up to this big wheel and he looked kind of underfed to me."

"Oh." Ty Lee sighed.

"But I got him out."

* * *

"Well, you know your uncle's not mad at you." Toph said, lowering herself and the confining wall behind him. She sat back down and patted the ground next to her in an indication for him to join her again.

Zuko smiled faintly. "Yeah, I do." She had no idea. It was very obvious there was no anger in the Master's fire that had brushed over his hand. The very reminder he had gotten earlier during the lesson had probably triggered his guilt over leaving his uncle.

"And you can't do anything about all of that stuff, now, Dragonboy." Toph dismissed his thievery. She lay back down and folded her hands behind her head once again after he had re-joined her on the ground. "You just have to focus on what you _can_ do."

Zuko's face fell. "The girl we_- __I-_ stole him from was really nice to us." He said sullenly. "And I don't know how she's going to take our coming back. She'll probably be angry."

"Listen, the important thing is you _are_ bringing it back. And maybe she'll hate your guts." She made a careless motion with her hand. "But at least you'll have returned it." She snorted. "Great _Mahimata_, what with all your _fuss_, you'd think you had _killed_ a man or something. You need to _lighten up_. Take a page out of the _Twinkles_ book."

* * *

"Oh, and have you ever seen singing groundhogs?" The first Twinkle asked eagerly.

"No!" The second Twinkle grinned. "But that would be a _great _circus act!"

* * *

At her comment, Zuko did manage a small, close-mouthed chuckle. "Which one?"

She smiled back. "Either." She shrugged. "Both."


	18. Old Wounds Reopened

**_Oh Spirits. Drama. -.- Tell me, do you like this kind of stuff? 'Cause later I have all sorts of chances at "drama." I don't really like drama because it seems like so many Avatar fics are nothing but. _**

**_So seriously, tell me your opinion. It will shape (a little bit) of the story later. Would you like me to keep it at a minimum or do you derive cruel pleasure from watching the characters suffer? If you hate pointless clashing over pairings because you know who ends up with whom anyway (because my pairings WILL end up the way I announced them, regardless!) then say so!_**

**_Suki is a very difficult character to, well, characterize because we know next to nothing about her, and she got little screentime or interaction with any other people besides Sokka. I just want to take the opportunity to assert that I definitely do not have the Suki-hate complex that so many Tokka shippers seem to have, and I am in no way trying to twist her personality in a bad way. So please, no "YOU JUST LIKE TY LOKKA so you're screwing Suki over!1!one!11!" Forgive me for poking a little fun. I actually like the Kyoshi warriors a lot. In fact, I almost wish the creators would tell us their story of accompanying refugees and what they were doing when Azula ran into them.  
_**

**_This is definitely not the last time we will see her, either._**

**_I also thought it was poor form that we never even got to meet any of her other warriors. So I thought, since I have a few tertiary characters floating around already, wouldn't hurt to add another one.  
_**

**_Okay, so after the episode "The Storm" when Sokka goes to work for the fisherman I was expecting there to be more funny shenanigans where the Gaang had to get odd jobs to earn money. So running with that idea, I formulated these next chapters._**

**_I haven't actually found this town on any Avatar reference maps, so I'm pretty much having to make these descriptions about it up. X( But I tried to keep everything else about the geography on-point. Emulate Sokka and follow along on a map if you feel like. _**

**_Again, I'm interested in just how many times you see the chapter title theme. ;)_**

**What Meets the Eye**

"I'm just glad we finally have another _girl_ in the group because _you_ two are _disgusting_." –Katara, _Book 2, Chapter 8: The Chase_

**Chapter 18: Old Wounds Reopened **

The Gaang was finally standing on the outskirts of Onto. They had flown (and Aang had ridden) for nearly a month since picking up the three newest members. They had first crossed the Waybe River, which, if Ty Lee had remembered, was the mid-continent river that the fleeing citizens of Omashu had to cross to escape their pursuers. After they had cleared the next east-to-west flowing river, they could begin to follow along the north-south running river that Onto would be adjacent to. It was part of the waterway that traveled all the way from the Northern Sea, through two lakes separated by the Serpent's Pass, and down into Chameleon Bay, bisecting the Earth Kingdom continent.

They had skirted Gaipan, the village Jet had attempted to flood, and to their horror, the Freedom Fighter's camp was now utterly destroyed. Several trees were sawed off and bits of charred wreckage of the once-beautiful and expertly balanced tree houses littered the forest floor. Would they ever find out what happened to the band? Was there anything left to find?

Katara had been in a state of restlessness for nearly a week after that. The memory and uncertainly nagged at her. Were her last words to him the permanent last?

l

"_Jet, you monster!"_

l

As a result, she had clashed with Toph a lot more than usual. Small things the girl did became increasingly aggravating. She was a little more composed now, though.

After Gaipan they had pushed along reluctantly and glimpsed the Ruins of Taku, nestled among the low mountains to the west, where Aang had sought out the help of the herbalist and returned to the Water Tribe siblings with frozen frogs.

Onto itself was composed of a dense marketplace located right on the river, but the rest of the town branched out into the outlying fields, so though it was fairly spread out geographically, its population wasn't overly large. Iroh, Zuko and Aang planned to take Appa to search out the small pocket of houses where Song resided, while the others went to the main part of the city.

"So." Sokka clapped his hands together as he talked to Iroh. "I guess we're going to split up, right? You and Aang and Angry Boy here can go take Fluffy back to whoever, and Ty Lee, Katara, and I are going to go find some jobs to work while we're here. I figure we're okay for, say, -three or four days?- before we need to move on again. Toph, since you are still training Aang you should go with-"

"Actually," Katara interrupted, "Iroh told me there's a pretty nice public bath in town. Ty Lee and I were talking about going before we go to look for a seamstress' place to work. Would you like to come, Toph?"

Toph frowned slightly at the waterbender, likely leery of a veiled insult given the past few days. "I don't think so. I'm not that into scrubbing, thanks. If you want to get all fancy, then don't drag me into it."

"Are you sure?" Ty Lee asked.

"_Yes_." Toph repeated, irritation clearly surfacing.

Katara pouted mockingly. "Well then, Little Miss Traildust-"

"Hey, remember that this earthbender controls your _bathing curtains!_" Toph retorted.

Toph would often section off lakes with rock walls so that the respective members of the group had privacy.

"But wouldn't it be good to get an actual-" Katara stopped short. "Wait a second, if you see through the ground . . ."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"_Yes?_" Toph said impatiently.

"C-can you . . .? While we're . . .?"

Toph snorted at her discomfort. "In case you haven't figured it out Queeny, peoples' vibrations are the same to me whether they have _clothes_ on or not."

Everyone's faces went red and there were several uncomfortable coughs and shifts of weight.

"T-that is . . ." Katara stuttered.

"_What?_" Toph cut in, voice rising. "_Strange? Weird?_ I'm a _freak_, right?"

"That's _not _what I was going to _say!_" Katara shouted defensively.

Ty Lee stepped between them. "Guys, calm down. And Toph, I know what you mean."

The awkwardness in the next stretch of silence was even more pronounced this time.

"Whatever." Toph said finally, not accepting the metaphorical olive branch. "Otherworld forbid there be a _girl _who doesn't feel like getting _dolled up_. So _weird_, right? You two _pussy-peacocks_ can go _preen._ Call me when you feel like doing something that's actually _useful!_" She stomped the ground, sending everyone wobbling.

"Fine, then! Sheesh. Arrrrgh." Katara threw her hands over her head. "We were just trying to be _nice!_ Come on Ty Lee. Sokka."

The two in question followed the irate girl hesitantly.

* * *

"I like that place." Ty Lee pointed to a quaint-looking shop. A dreamcatcher sporting red, green, yellow, and blue iguana-parrot feathers dangled next to a slightly crooked sign marking it as the working-place of a seamstress in scratchy, almost illegible letters.

"Oh yeah." Katara nodded. "That looks like a good place to get some outfits. Not too high-brow or mainstream- the owner might be flexible in discounting some clothes for you."

"And Katara, I think I'm definitely going to have to get something green. It really is a nice color." She poked playfully at the waterbender whose aura often bore the said color.

Katara pushed her hand away in good humor. "Didn't you say your sister Weici showed that color a lot too?"

"Mmmm hmmmm."

Sokka, who was walking a little ways ahead of the girls, tapped a nearby man on the shoulder. "Hey, is there a butcher who's looking for help anywhere around here?"

The man rubbed his chin. "Yeah, I think so. Four or five blocks over that way."

"Oh no." Sokka said.

"What? Isn't that good?" Katara asked, coming up next to him.

Sokka pointed. "Suki."

Indeed, two viridian-clad warriors were sidling their way through the marketplace, arms laden with goods. They weren't moving toward the trio, but Sokka nonetheless swiveled his head back and forth, as if he wanted to bolt out of view quickly. "Uuuummm. Why don't we-"

Katara grabbed his arm. "Hey, you gotta face her some time."

Sokka gave her a questioning look. "Y-you . . .?"

"Yes, I _do_ know about you and Ty Lee, big brother." Katara said sardonically. They hadn't exactly announced it to the rest of the group.

"Y-you told . . .?" he began to Ty Lee.

"It's not exactly hard to tell, anyway, Sokka." Katara cut him off. "Now stop being a chicken-pig. Suki!" She called, waving to her and her companion. "Good to see you!"

The two warriors quickly spied them and changed direction.

"B-but I didn't t-tell-" Sokka's eyes darted to Ty Lee as his incoherency increased.

"Spirits, Sokka, you didn't tell her about Suki?" Katara said under her breath. "Ty Lee," she said into the acrobat's ear, "This girl kissed Sokka once. Promise me you won't _**flip **_out? No pun intended."

Ty Lee blinked. "Ummm. Okay."

"Katara! Sokka!" Suki smiled. "Hey! I don't know if you remember my second in command, Tacha." She nodded to her companion.

The other girl bowed as much as the wax-paper packages in her arms would allow.

"I think Sokka has something to tell you, Suki." Katara prodded her elbow into his ribs.

Sokka was beginning to look very much like an aquatic eel-fish that was floundering in open air. "Well see . . . I'm kinda _involved _with . . ." His eyes moved to the acrobat. "Ty Lee here."

Suki's face fell.

* * *

". . . you know Katara meant well." Iroh was finishing to the young earthbender as he steered Appa, scanning the landscape below.

"Yeah, yeah." She said dismissively.

"She was-"

"_**Look,**_" Toph cut him off, "Do you have any idea how much _my mom_ fussed over me being 'clean and presentable?' I'm not going to take it from _her,_ too! I don't care if it was some obscure way of her trying to 'include' me in something!"

He sighed, reluctantly letting the matter drop.

"Ah! I do believe that's the place!" He exclaimed after a few minutes.

They descended and Iroh directed the bison several hundred yards short of the gathering of houses and pond that indicated their destination.

Aang, in the outfit he had gotten in Gaoling, came trotting up on the equine-avian. As Zuko, Iroh, and Toph got down from Appa, he vaulted off of the side of his own temporary mount and brought the reins over the long beak in order to lead him. He glanced around at the surrounding trees, which would conceal the giant bison. "Sometimes I really wish I could just fly Appa into towns like I used to, instead of having to hide him."

l

_Twenty sky bison moved placidly through the abundantly clouded air. Three were much larger than the rest, marking the elder chaperones of the collection of nomads._

"_Hey look!" One of the boys in front shouted. "We're here!"_

_Momentarily veiled by the cumulus cover, the conical layout of Omashu slipped into view. At the sight the bison calves were suddenly bucking and baying, sensing the excitement of their eager riders._

"_I'll race you, Rinchen!" a bare-headed Aang called._

"_You're on, Aang! Don't think that youngling can beat my trusty old steed." He said sarcastically. His bison was only two years older, but the difference was easy to spot._

_Aang laughed at the hyperbole. "To the flag posts, then!" _

_At the top of one of the privately used mail shoots there were four flags that sported the insignia of noble houses. It was a well-known spot to all of the boys._

"_1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . GO!"_

_At the exclamation several more than two peeled out. Everyone recognized the game. The last burst of energy in a long trip was the best part. The wind riffled through their clothes and their stomachs plummeted out from under them. The exhilaration never got old, no matter how many times they did it. Whoops and hollers sounded from all around._

_Below, Earth Kingdom people paused in their daily tasks to behold the sight of the wingless beasts whizzing through the air, with the three larger ones trailing behind. Many waved enthusiastically in greeting. Children ran after them, laughing, chasing the shadows cast over the streets._

_l _

Zuko almost looked a little alarmed at the airbender's statement. "You know we can't advertise our presence-"

"Yeah, yeah." Aang said quickly. "I know why I can't." He shook his head, as if trying to rid himself of his century-old thoughts, and banish the fresh surge of grief. "That doesn't stop me from missing it, you know?"

Appa grumbled.

Aang frowned, obviously interpreting the bison's disgruntlement of being deprived of his rider. They were all each other had left of that time, after all. Maybe that was the reason he had been feeling rather down lately, too. The sight of the Freedom Fighters former headquarters certainly hadn't done anything to improve his mindset. One more group of people he had failed. At one new, simple, thought, however, he smiled hugely. "I'll be riding you again after today, buddy."

Appa let loose a louder cry and took two steps closer, spooking the ostrich horse. It squawked and yanked the reigns from the airbender's hand, coming to a stop a few yards away and promptly thrusting its head into the ground.

Aang chuckled, "Hey, don't take it out on him, Appa." He approached the animal slowly and patted it, trying to coax it back up. "We'll be back soon. Meanwhile me and Zuko are going to sport our matching hats." The boy gave an ornery wink and ran a forefinger and thumb proudly along the edge of his Earth style hat he was wearing.

"Hmp." Zuko snorted, unamused at the antics, as he dug his own hat out of Appa's saddle bag. "They don't exactly match, Aang."

"Whatever, they're the same style." Aang continued unabashedly. "And for the same purpose."

Both were wide-brimmed coolie hats, one that Zuko had worn since being marooned, and one that Aang had had since his visit to Toph's home town. Zuko's was plain, made of straw, and Aang's was painted with green stripes. Of the Gaang, Aang, Iroh, and Zuko were the ones with hefty prices on their heads, which could easily be sought after by Earth Kingdom people and Fire Nation people alike; gold knew no boundaries. Zuko and Aang were the most easily distinguishable. At Iroh's suggestion, Aang had gotten a long-sleeve shirt to go under his black and green outfit, to cover his arm tattoos. Zuko had gotten his hat to partially conceal his scar in the first place, and Aang's hat likewise covered his arrow.

As they had visited towns, the prince and his uncle had taken the time to point out to him just how low-key he needed to stay. Zuko even once mentioned that Sokka and Katara could stand to lose the uniquely-colored clothes that stood out so much, at which point Sokka put his foot down and refused to relinquish his heritage at the demand of some pompous Fire Nation boob.

The conversation about it had ended promptly after that.

"If you two ladies are done discussing fashion," Toph said lazily, "can we get a move on?"

* * *

"Sooooooo . . ." Ty Lee asked Suki, "You're from the South Pole?"

After a pause, Suki shook her head. "No. We're from Kyoshi Island. It _is_ pretty far south, but it's part of the Earth Kingdom."

"Oh." Ty Lee gazed at her quizzically. "You have blue eyes, though."

Katara smiled a bit at both of them. This sounded promising. Civility would prevail.

"Wait, what?" Sokka said. "She has green eyes."

Suki scowled just slightly. "I do _not_."

Katara resisted the urge to slap a hand to her forehead. Why couldn't her brother just keep his big mouth shut?

Sokka apparently realized he had stepped into some hot water, too, because he swallowed.

* * *

They walked along, the prince, heiress, ex-general, and Avatar, as naturally as if they were simply ordinary travelers.

As they passed the medical building where Iroh had been treated and drew closer to the small house, Zuko stiffened gradually with apprehension.

"Relax, Lizard." Toph commented.

Song's mother was out on the porch, sweeping. When she heard the creak of her gate swinging open, she looked up and immediately her eyes went wide as she caught sight of Zuko and Iroh. She raised the broom horizontally to chest level, as if to defend herself.

* * *

Ty Lee put a hand to her chin. "Wait. Kyoshi. I've heard that name before."

"The island is named for one of Aang's past lives." Katara told her. "She was the most recent Avatar of the Earth Kingdom."

"And her fighting style-" Tacha carefully shifted what she was carrying and freed a hand to unfold one of her fans proudly, "is what we model ours after."

Ty Lee had unintentionally rescued her boyfriend with her musing. The obvious relief on Sokka's face as he released a held breath was now making Katara want to snicker.

"They're beautiful." Ty Lee smiled at the golden fan. But then she leaned forward and cocked her head curiously. "Fans . . . for an earthbender?"

"Yeah. Is there something _wrong_ with that?" Suki raised an eyebrow.

Ty Lee paused for a moment. "Oh, no, I guess not." she pulled back and nodded. "It actually makes sense."

"Why?" Tacha asked.

"Well, earthbending is hard for Aang because it's his opposite, right?" Ty Lee asked Katara.

"Yeah."

"So Kyoshi probably had trouble learning her opposite, too," Ty Lee went on, "So she chose a weapon that would help her with airbending."

Even under her alabaster makeup, Suki somehow managed to turn brick red.

Katara would've bet everything she owned that _Sokka_ would be the one to ruin this. But apparently not.

"Are you saying the _creator of our island_ lacked _bending skills_?"

Ty Lee literally leapt backwards at the acidic words. "N-no, I-I-"

"That's not what she meant, Suki." Katara said seriously.

Suki took a breath and turned her glare to Katara for a minute before turning her lazer-sharp gaze back on Ty Lee.

She scanned her attire which matched Katara. "Are you from the North Pole, then?" she asked stiffly.

"I'm from the Fire Nation homeland. I've been in the colonies the past two years, though."

Suki and Tacha looked like they hadn't registered _any_ bit of the second sentence.

* * *

Song's mother glanced around hurriedly at the neighboring houses, as if searching for some support. "I'm gonna start yellin' if you're not off my lawn _by the time I count to ten!"_ She said vehemently to the intruders.

Song rushed to the door at the sound of her mother's panicked voice. "What is i-"

"Hey." Aang took off his hat, revealing his primary arrow. "They're here to return what they took. No need to-"

Song's eyes went wide this time. "The _Avatar!_"

* * *

"You _**what?**_" Tacha dropped everything. A loaf of bread spilled out of its wrappings, the string on other items holding up when they bounced off the ground; she fell into a stance and brought the fan she had already opened in front of her, eyeing the Fire Nation girl warily. "You guys are traveling with one of _them?" _

"And you-" Suki incredulous gaze shifted to Sokka. "You're _with _her?"

"Well, yeah, but she's not-"

"Are you even sure it's _safe?_" Tacha took a step backwards, bristling.

"Guys, guys," Katara made a calming gesture with her hands. "It's fine, really."

There was a long pause as the two Earth Kingdom warriors met each others' eyes. Tacha's look was questioning, waiting for orders, and Suki's was indecisive as she looked from her subordinate to the three people and back. "And Aang has OKed this?" Suki asked tentatively.

"Yes. Yes he has." Katara said quickly.

"Well . . . I guess we have to trust the Avatar's judgment." Suki nodded slightly to Tacha.

The other girl reluctantly stowed her weapon and began to collect what she had dropped. She muttered something about eating the bread that had gotten dust on it herself.

"Don't be silly." Suki shook her head. Her gaze fell on Ty Lee as she continued absently, "It was an accident. A little dirt never hurt anyone, anyway." Her stare didn't quite match her placating words.

Katara reprehended herself silently as she noted the reactions. She hadn't even thought of the difficulty with the acrobat's nationality. The two girls had no doubt spent a long time picking up and patching up the burned mess Zuko had left behind on Kyoshi. And who knew if they had fought anyone between then and now?

* * *

Song threw open the door in excitement and rushed out towards Aang, but her mother caught her arm. "Wait a second! Be careful, Song." She frowned at Iroh.

Aang, not liking the way this was going, indicated the equine-avian, and asked, "So, where should I put him, miss?" His foreboding only increased when the woman didn't acknowledge him.

She hadn't taken her eyes off the ex-general. "We know who you two are, now."

* * *

"S-so Suki, what are you doing here?" Katara asked, trying to pick the conversation back up.

"We're escorting some refugees to Ba Sing Se. In fact, we have to be going; we're leaving today." Suki replied, a little too briskly to be polite. She glanced to Sokka one more time, and without saying goodbye, jerkily motioned for Tacha to follow.

Sokka turned to his sister accusingly as soon as they slipped out of sight. "Great. Just great, Katara. Now she hates me."

"She doesn't _hate_ you-" Katara started-

"I'm sorry." Ty Lee mumbled. "Yunru always said I never thought before I talked."

"From what you've told me, your sister wasn't very nice to you." Katara said at the mention of the name. "Listen, it's O.K.," she in a loving but condescending tone, beginning a gentle lecture. "Maybe we just shouldn't be telling people where you're from, all right?"

The acrobat bowed her head bashfully, accepting the patronizing easily. "I'm sorry." She repeated.

Katara laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault."

Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose. "No," he said sarcastically to his sister, "It's _yours_."

Katara gave him an, 'are-you-really-going-to-pull-that' look.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go find the butcher. If I'm lucky, he won't mind adding some _dark meat_ to his stock." He drew an index finger over his own tan neck in a slicing motion.

Ty Lee went almost as white as the Kyoshi Warriors' painted faces.

"That's _sarcasm,_ sweetie," Katara told her quickly, shaking the stricken girl's shoulder a little. "Just sarcasm."

* * *

"Song, go back in the house." The woman instructed sternly.

"I won't leave you here with them." She replied quietly.

"Let the boy go." The woman said, clearly addressing Iroh.

"What?"

"I don't know what kind of trick this is, but you'll let the Avatar go, or I'm going to raise hell." She turned to Aang and brandished the broom. "_Run._"

Aang carefully led his mount forward and tied its reins to the sidepost of the porch. "I'm here of my own will, miss, and they're here with me."

"Man, what did you guys do to them?" Toph muttered under her breath to Zuko.

"It's not what we did, it's who we are." He muttered back.

"I'm afraid it _**is **_what we have done, nephew. Or rather, I." Iroh supplied gravely.

"_Stop whispering to each other!_" She pulled out several fliers that were tucked in her pocket. "_What_, may I ask, is the Avatar doing with the Dragon of the West?"

"He's my sifu, actually." Aang responded. "And my friend." He added.

"Your friend." The woman repeated sneeringly. "Hm."

"So is this what I have to deal with?" The woman went on, "A foreign power play going on right in my sleepy little neighborhood? The brother of the Fire Lord strikes a deal with the mightiest person on earth to gain back his stolen title. And you even have him convinced that you're his _friend_. Well played, _Reptile_, well played. After you failed to fell a city of cowardly refugee squatters you turn your sights on something a bit more ambitious, I see."

"Hey!" Toph suddenly interjected, "You know what, lady? We're not a bunch of naive little kids. We know what's what."

For the first time she really fixed her gaze on the small earthbender. "And you are . . .?"

"I'm Toph Bei Fong. And I'm getting sick of this whole ringer thing. If you don't want us here, we'll just leave the stupid smelly bird-horse and go."

* * *

Back at the public bath, Katara and Ty Lee had finished their showers and were wrapped in towels, sitting together and wringing out their hair. At their feet was a large but shallow pool of warm water. The employees and helpers had told them that sometimes travelers simply came in to soothe their feet this way. Katara had commented that she was glad they had means of transportation other than walking.

Behind them, a shelved wall was radiating dry heat by means of several wood fires burning in each slot. Only about a third of them were in use, however. The demand didn't fill all the spaces until the temperatures of winter rolled around.

"You and Toph generate a lot of negative energy, you know." Ty Lee was saying.

Katara sighed in exasperation. "She really is an incredible bender. Really. But that shouldn't mean that she gets to be a _jerk_ all the time. And is it too much to ask for her not to pick her nose –_or her toes!_- in front of us?"

"Well . . ." Ty Lee swirled the tips of her fingers around in the water a bit. "My sister Meili was always trying to get us to behave perfectly and be fine ladies and all of that. But, at least with Yunru- the harder she pushed, the more she seemed to push back, you know?"

Katara rolled her eyes.

"I mean, I didn't like most of the workers at the circus at first because they all stayed really grimy." The girl delicately wrinkled her nose. "Not the other performers, but the guys who set up the tents and stuff. But after a while it didn't seem so bad. I even made friends with Poshu, before he left."

* * *

"Bei Fong? _The _Bei Fongs?" Song asked.

"Gaoling, the whole sha-bang." Toph replied sourly.

"What are you doing this far north? And with no escort?" The woman cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. "How-"

"I'm watching an animal being handed off to a couple of ungrateful rubes, is what." The heiress cut her off.

"Toph-" Iroh reprimanded.

"No, Iroh." Toph, using his real name and not her usual affectionate moniker, "Sokka put you through this kind of questioning when you joined us. And we believe you. If they can't, then we just have to move on and forget about it."

"Twinkles, you and I have earthbending to work on, and I'm sure the two Sizzles here can find something better to do than be yelled at. So hop to it."

Aang looked back at the two women sadly before replacing his hat and following his second sifu's request.

The woman implored to his back, "Please understand I mean no _disrespect_ to _you,_ Avatar. You have already done a world of good. We have heard the stories of the Siege of the North. You are a _hero."_ She stated glowingly. "Trade here has flourished since then, without so much interference from the Fire Navy." She paused. "Even if this whole town goes up in flame later for my insolence . . . It would be worth becoming a refugee again, and having to search out another place we can freely offer our services to the cause . . . if you realize what you're doing. _Keep your eye on the Dragon._" She warned.

Aang didn't turn around.

"We won't tell anyone you're here, though." Song added softly. "And thank you." She laid a hand on the ostrich-horse's neck.

The four moved away, back through the gate, and started down the path again, led by the smallest, impetuous member.

* * *

Katara suddenly looked over to Ty Lee with a searching expression. "You know, I really . . . I mean, . . . can you tell if she misses her parents?"

* * *

"A Bei Fong?" the Fire Nation prince echoed incredulously as they stepped. "You're a _Bei Fong?_ And we weren't informed of this 'till now, because . . .?"

"You didn't ask." Toph answered bluntly.

"How _did_ you come to be here, then, Toph?" Iroh asked curiously.

"Why does it matter?" She deflected his question.

"You're from one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom, with one of the few intact spheres of influence independent from the Fire Nation."

"Yeah, my folks would like to think of themselves as royalty, like the king in Omashu, or that Fong guy in the west." Toph said sullenly.

"General Fong is royalty?" Aang asked.

"Not strictly speaking." Iroh said.

"If he had enough of a big head people would call him King in a heartbeat." Toph continued. "Since the King of Ba Sing Se withdrew its outside support for the war almost twenty years ago. I mean, think of what all those people could do to turn the tide. That's one thing I have to agree with the old windbag back there on." Toph snorted. "Cowardly refugee squatters . . . couldn't have put it better myself."

"The Kingdom has always been fragmented and hard to rally." Iroh pointed out.

"The Gan Jin and the Zhang wouldn't even unite to fight us." Zuko added.

"You guys know about those two clans?" Aang asked in surprise.

"Had a run-in with them, yeah." The prince said sarcastically.

"We helped them cross the Great Divide. They're working together now." Aang nodded proudly.

"But there are clans like that all over." Toph butted back in. "That won't get along. They each pick rulers that suit them best, too."

"As with Fong, you will find that the People of the Earth are much more concerned at this point in efficacy of leaders rather than bloodlines." Iroh agreed.

"They were always that way, though, weren't they?" Aang mused. "Bumi wasn't a prince when_ I_ knew him. He was just an average guy. He must have simply been the best leader they had, and got promoted."

"Kind of haphazard way to run things, if you ask me." Zuko observed.

"Oh, yes, because blindly following a psychotic tyrant just because he's descended from some 'super special' family-" She stopped suddenly, as if she realized what she was saying. "Sorry, Dragon, Lizard. Didn't mean it that way."

Neither replied for a moment.

"It is clearly a mix of the two with the Bei Fongs." Iroh said finally. "They were born with money, but they have used it well. The militia they have raised has kept Gaoling out of trouble."

"Oh yeah, they're just the People of the Century." Toph grumbled under her breath, hardly audible to the others.

"You do realize that was a _compliment?_" Zuko asked.

She rounded to face him. Or rather, to square her body with his. "Just because I insult your family doesn't reflect on you, and _**just**_ because you praise _**them**_ doesn't have anything to do with _**me**_, _okay_?" She yelled. "We're both _separate people_ from them!"

She suddenly bent her knees and the ground dipped and gave way under her, then, like rubber, snapped back up and sped her away following the long strides of her legs, leaving the three males staring after her.

"What did I say?" Zuko asked, mystified.

* * *

"The place you use bending-" Ty Lee pressed her hand to her own back. "She gets a lot of collected energy there."

"The Water chakra? So she's guilty for tricking them?" Katara asked.

She shrugged. "Like I told Sokka once, I can't read people's specific thoughts."

"That's probably what it is." Katara said quietly. She adjusted her towel and leaned back on her hands. "So, you and my brother, huh?" She asked casually at the mention of his name.

"Yeah." Ty Lee smiled.

"Iroh probably knows. Toph, too. I'm not sure about Zuko. The only one who probably doesn't have any idea is Aang." She laughed lightly. "So has the thickhead actually_ learned_ any chi blocking, or have you two been too _distracted_?" Katara leaned in teasingly.

"_Hey!_ That's not _fair!_" Ty Lee responded, almost whining, but completely honest. "We have been working. But it's hard! Weici tried at it for _months_ and _months_ but she never did get the hang of it."

Katara shouldered a tone that made her sound a little more like the parent she often acted like. "I've noticed Sokka's really tired lately- as if he's been _missing sleep_," she said pointedly as she raised an inquiring eyebrow.

Ty Lee flushed brilliantly at the insinuation. "I-It's nothing like _that_, Katara! I have nightmares s-sometimes and he-"

"Nightmares?" Her eyebrows furrowed now.

"Y-yeah. Well," Ty Lee ran her fingers nervously through her hair. "See, I'm just really scared of fire . . . well, more than usual lately . . . I have bad dreams about it. Sometimes Sokka wakes up at night and stays up with me." A faint smile flitted across the acrobat's lips for a second. "But we're not- y'know doing _that_." Her flush returned full force.

"I believe you. It's him and his thick head I'm not sure I trust. Don't let him push you around, 'K?"

Ty Lee nodded.

"And I can always smack a little sense into him if you need me to." She winked.

* * *

The three firebenders reached Appa again, but the earthbender was nowhere to be seen.

"Zuko, can you drill with Aang?" Iroh asked his nephew.

The prince nodded.

Iroh clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away, whistling "Four Seasons" nonchalantly to himself. Most of the terrain was at a forty-five degree angle, but there were flat paths cutting through regularly. He meandered along, up two switchbacks. But then he ran across a place where the trail had been thoroughly washed out. He looked it up and down for a moment, then proceeded to climb down the steep depression. He stumbled a bit and loose stones cascaded down after being disturbed.

"You're going to kill yourself, you know."

A large solid slab of rock extended just below him and he stepped down to it.

Smiling, he looked back up to where he had turned off. "Ah, but then that's how life works. You can't always depend on the clear road to be there."

The little girl crossed her arms and shook her head. "Don't get all expansive on me, Dragon. You just came out here to nag me about the way I was acting, didn't you?"

Iroh sat on the constructed ledge, facing away from her. "No."

He didn't say anything else, and for a minute the girl stood there, and then turned and took a few steps away. But then she paused, turned again, and stood for another few minutes.

"I do, however, infer that since you came to me, and are not leaving, you wish to talk about something." Iroh said passively.

"Oh, you're devious." Despite herself, Toph smiled a bit.

She lowered herself easily, skating down the hill.

"They're good people." She said simply.

"Your parents."

"Yeah."

"Aang gave me and my nephew a brief synopsis of how he met you." Iroh told her. "It must have been quite a feat, keeping you a secret."

"You have no idea." Toph said sadly. "The amount of bribes that had to cover all the guards, all the servants, all the doctors that they pushed into constantly checking me. It probably wouldn't have even worked, either, if they didn't have the kind of power to easily jail people if they felt like it."

"The proverbial donkey-emu." Iroh replied. "A rewarding carrot in front and a punishing stick behind."

"When you guys were prying about them . . . and talking about them . . . I guess . . ." She sat down and tucked her legs up under her. "It was like, in my mind, you all were saying over and over again, 'How could you have done that to them?' I just threw everything they did away. They would have been better off using that money to support Gaoling's defense."

Iroh only nodded.

"I understand why they did it. They're known all over. By allies. And enemies." She gave a weak snort. "Not that you and Lizard are enemies, but the fact you two- royalty- even recognize my family's name . . ." She shook her head. "We're in a war, after all." Her voice broke slightly. "C-can you imagine the r-ransom they'd pay for me?"

* * *

"So what about you?" Katara asked Ty Lee. "Do you miss your family?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Toph had a fight with her parents before she left. I guess you patched things up though, since you said you'd visited them once since you went to the circus, right?"

"Not exactly . . . " Ty Lee sighed as she looked down. "Well . . . it's just, things have never been that easy with my parents. For any of us."

l

_A cry of a newborn infant rang through the halls of the Fire Nation manor in the Unshiri Provence._

_The mother, propped up on cushions in a lavish red-curtained bed, cradled the tiny newcomer with a great deal of anxiety. "Shhhh, Jia, shhhh . . ." _

_The four nursemaids around her, too, were on edge and they fiddled with the corners of their aprons, muttering to one another fearfully._

_It had been a harrowing delivery. The child, however, was healthy and lively, looking around with gradually open silver eyes as its cries tapered off into sniffs. The woman looked very exhausted, but she would be perfectly fine, with a few days rest._

_So this wasn't the source of their distress._

"_. . . I'm sorry, sir." One of the maids was saying. "But she really shouldn't have any more. As you know, she passed the proper age several years ago-"_

"_Of course not . . . But- A SEVENTH?" If the man were a firebender, he would have been gushing the element in frustration and desperation. "A __**SEVENTH? **__Not a __**single**__ son! How COULD this even-" he continued to rant until the baby began to cry again at full volume.  
_

_Six more sets of silver eyes were peeking through the heavy oak door to the room that was cracked open. They had come to see their new sibling. The second elder of the group, with half of her hair pulled back in a topknot, began to talk insistently and reassuringly to the others. "Come on, come on now." She tugged at shirtsleeves, and pressed gently between shoulder blades, shooing all of the smaller girls away. "We'll get to see her later, okay? It's going to be all right. Meili? You should come too."_

_The tallest girl had remained at the doorway, a distant look fixed into the room. "Father doesn't mean to be angry," she said timidly. After a pause, she obeyed the request and plodded up to her. "Weici, you know that, right?" _

_Weici gave a slight nod._

_Another girl darted around the shepherding arms and took up the place Meili had vacated. "I'm not going anywhere, Wei."_

"_Yunru . . .?" Meili blinked questioningly down at her, trying to smile as she sidled away. "That's r-right. He'll be b-back to himself in no t-time-"_

"_Shut up, Meili!" The child said abruptly, and all the others winced in surprise. She seemed to enjoy their startled reactions, commanding the attention of the space. "Don't be a baby. You're the oldest, for crying's sake." She thrust her chin up at the gaggle of her sisters, "He doesn't __**scare **__me."_

"_Yunru, there's nothing to be scared **of.**" Meili chided, "And don't be so **rude**-"_

"_You're not the boss of me."_

_Meili opened her mouth to respond-_

"_Meili, just **leave** it." Weici cut into the bickering. She resumed murmuring comfortingly and steering the remaining three away from the noise of the little wail that didn't quite cover up the masculine voice coming from the room._

" _. . . we've been trying for all this time! By __**AGNI**__, think of what we're going to pay in dowries? And no one to continue the family name! What are the __**odds**__ of having so many girls in a row? . . . "_

l

As Ty Lee spoke in hushed tones the water in the bath began to steam and slosh around the waterbender's ankles. "So _you were just . . . _one less_ dowry _for them to shell out. They were only too glad to disown you when you left." She paused and unclenched her fingers, and the water gradually stilled, but her phrases were far from steady. "Never— Don't ever for one second think— . . . Ty Lee, look—look at me."

The other girl raised her morose silver eyes to her fierce cerulean ones.

"Don't ever for one second think that's even remotely true," she finally managed to say. "You aren't just another dau- . . . My gran-gran, she was fed up with expectations and constraints too, and she left her home. It took a lot of courage for her to do what she did, and I see a courageous girl in front of me, too."

She opened her arms. "Come here." The acrobat leaned into the hug gladly.

When the waterbender could finally speak again her words were soft. "They don't know what they lost, Ty."

* * *

"I know they must be worried _sick _about me."

"I'm sure they are."

Toph scooped a handful of the hard-packed earth as easily as someone else would a handful of rice, and split it once, again, and another time. "But I meant what I said to them. I love fighting. I love earthbending."

Iroh hummed speculatively. "You use the two terms as if they were synonymous."

"Huh?"

"Fighting. And earthbending. Your relationship to the earth is by no means limited to the way you use it in combat. It is much deeper and richer than that."

The girl tilted her head noncommittally. "I guess . . ."

"It is used in amazing ways. I have seen benders, who could read the soil- knew it so well that they could say which plants would flourish in a given plot, and grow five times the amount of crop than any guesswork could manage."

"Where? When did you see them?" The girl asked curiously.

"Ah, well, I was traveling incognito, just landed off the coast of-"

Suddenly she sat up ram-rod straight. "You're _lying._" She said in absolute disbelief.

"W-what?"

She set down the earth she had been fiddling with. "I can tell when someone lies. Your pulse quickens. Your energy goes to your neck."

"Of course." Iroh whispered. "The Truth chakra."

She turned her ear toward him expectantly. "Well, are you going to tell me the actual story, then?"

Iroh rubbed at his temple nervously. "As prince I was obligated to visit and evaluate colonies, and-"

"And what?" she prompted when he stopped.

"Many places, earthbenders are captured and imprisoned. And their talents are sometimes left to fallow. But other times . . . they're . . . enslaved. Let's just say that these particular benders did not possess prowess in fighting, and had to endure much-" he pressed his lips together- "physical abuse. They might have died without the merit of those skills. But depending on who you talk to, a life serving up resources to alien people might be worse."

She scooped another section of earth of it and began to work it apart again. "They weren't _women_, by any chance, were they?"

His heartbeat gave him away to Toph. His accompanying deep grimace would have sufficed for anyone else.

"You know I don't like it when people want to _protect_ me from things." She said solemnly. Even if those things were ideas he wanted to keep from a twelve-year-old. "If my folks had had it their way, I wouldn't know anything about what was going on outside our little province, outside the house, even. But with hearing like mine, you pick up on things pretty quick."

"Back then, I was simply absorbed in checking over quotas." Iroh whispered dolefully. "My past casts a long shadow." He gaze fell in the direction they had come from, where they had left Song and her mother. "She was absolutely justified in her cautious attitude."

"I know." She gave a small sigh. "But that didn't make it any less annoying."

"And I didn't mean to deceive you, Toph . . . I just . . ."

"It's fine, Dragon." She turned so he could see her reassuring and forgiving smile. She was done dragging him over coals. "So, um, were you going to tell me anything else? About earthbending, I mean?"

"Ah," he cleared his throat noisily, and he resumed his former volume, seeming to greatly appreciate in moving on as he picked his tack back up. "It is used to create. You have not been to Omashu, nor Ba Sing Se, nor the Air Temples. Somehow I think that you would be able to appreciate their construction in a more intimate way than anyone else . . . I believe experiences you need are out there."

Toph spun small pieces of dirt around her outstretched fingers in endlessly varying paths, creases appearing at the top of her nose. She collected them all together into her palms. "So . . . what I did was _right?_"

"I can't think of anything else worthier than setting out to do your part in this conflict." He said gently. "But . . . I would ask you . . . you were very celebrated as the Blind Bandit . . . but I want to make very sure you realize that what you're proposing to get involved with . . ." the ex-general took a pregnant pause, full of decades of military experience, ". . . isn't match fighting. There is very real danger."

Abruptly she closed her fists, vehemently crushing what was left of her project to a fine dust. "_So now you're telling me I'm not __**good**__ enough? That I'm like those women- who probably didn't get to __**train **__because they were told that their place was out in the fields, not on the front lines!_"

Iroh's mouth hung slightly open after her tirade, golden eyes blinking rapidly. "That's . . . not . . . what I meant at all. I only say that because . . ." He trailed off. "Because I lost a child to the war."

Suddenly she regretted her sharp tongue. "Dragon, I'm s-sorry- it's just . . . there's only so much 'you're a defenseless blind girl' you can take before it starts to-"

"Before it starts to worm its way into your perception of others' intentions?" He finished. "It's all right."

She slowly brushed her hands clean of the powder.

"I always fear that . . ." he was whispering again. " . . . that I did not adequately prepare him. And that the confidence I gave him was his undoing."

There was another beat before she responded. "So I shouldn't just charge in _blindly_." The blind child punned quietly.

He gave the tiniest of smiles.

* * *

_**AfterNote: **_**_It kinda seems like there might be some sort of reliable birth control in the Avatar world- at least in the Fire Nation. Otherwise, the age difference between Mai and Tom-Tom and Iroh and Ozai suggests either several years of an unfulfilled marriage or children between them that died of illness (which happened a ton before modern medicine). Remember that having only one or two children is a convention of 'first-world' countries. I'd expect the type of world we're dealing with here there would be a lot of_**_** multi-children families, (especially if the Earth Kingdom is an agricultural power- children did a lot of the at-home labor). In Toph's case, I subscribe to the popular theory that Poppy has had trouble conceiving or several miscarriages and that's part of the reason they both are so protective of her, as well as why she has no siblings to speak of.  
**_

_**About Ty Lee's little flashback . . . In many parts of the world, it is a MAJOR economic and social liability- ruinous, even- to have multiple daughters- and in extreme cases- to have daughters **_**at all.**_** The blame for conceiving females is often placed on the mother- despite the ironic scientific fact that the chromosome the father contributes determines the gender of the child. These attitudes are especially prevalent for laboring class, but are in no way exclusive of wealthy families. (Even in America, we still mostly retain the habit of making the bride's family pay for the wedding :P)**_

**_I've had so many friends that look almost exactly like their siblings, it's disconcerting._**

_**And I am thoroughly tired of people saying Ty Lee's mother had "identical septuplets"- that is **_**biologically IMPOSSIBLE.**_** Not only do literal "identical" babies only come in pairs (and in very, very, VERY extremely rare cases sets of three or four)- but also in the Avatarverse, again assuming lack of modern medicine, a woman NEVER would have been able to successfully carry and deliver seven children at once- or probably more than two or three kids. People barely manage it now- and then only SOME of the time. Ty Lee's father might even have had a succession of wives- (if you're assuming monogamous laws) considering women often died in childbirth. I haven't set it up that way, though. **_**_ I think that the mother might have had twins, and definitely am not resistant to the idea that she might have had two sets of twins. Multiple births often run in families. (And I can definitely see Ty Lee as the unlucky one who was born with a twin.) But again, I just haven't set it up that way._**_**  
**_

**_Oh, and JESUSFREAK-And-Proud-Of-It crunched some numbers for me. The odds of having seven consecutive children of the same gender are 128 to 1. You know there's gotta be some uber friction in that household! Poor mother, poor father . . . just, poor _everyone._  
_**


	19. Spirits, Strings, and a Seamstress

_Previously . . ._

"'_. . . I've navigated the sea for nearly forty years. I've watched it take out some of our best, even before the Ocean Spirit went on his little rampage in the North- and I had to go through that, too . . . Ships smashed like they were paper . . .'"_

"_I swear, I could feel angry energy coming from the sea. _From nearly a hundred miles inland._ It was the scariest, weirdest thing _ever._ I slept in Rila's room for a week after that."_

**What Meets the Eye**

"Funny, what invisible strings connect us all." –Guru Pathik

**Chapter 19: Spirits, Strings, and a Seamstress**

Aang caught a glimpse of Iroh and Toph winding their way back down the hill as he trained with Zuko. They were still a good ways away, making elaborate hand gestures, looking like they were discussing something pretty intently.

He returned his focus to his current kick and after a few more minutes, he finished off a form and observed to the prince, "You know, after earthbending, firebending is almost easy. It's like it's familiar." He spread his feet far apart and sprang with an airbending-enhanced touch-off, repeating the fire form ten feet higher, landing in exactly the same position. "I need a wide stance, yeah, but once I get that, I can still leap like I usually would." Firebending was the next most aerial style, he had found out quickly.

Although it might seem that airbenders have a 'higher' lung 'capacity' than average, when Aang used his enhanced blowing technique, what was actually happening was additional air from behind him was following the path his breath made. The breath was still the single source of control- and it had been relatively simple for Aang to tweak this for fire production. A few times he had even ended up airbending and firebending at the same time- and had to work to separate them to get the full effect of the fire.

"And they both rely heavily on breath, too." Zuko agreed.

"-not on the muscles." A new voice finished.

Iroh and Toph had reached them.

"But then again, even earthbending isn't _that_ reliant on strength." The small girl said. "After all, I didn't whip you into shape in one day, did I Twinkle-Toes? The main thing is that you had to change the way you were _thinking_."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "True."

"Earthbending, although it is the most physical of the disciplines, is still governed by energy." Iroh nodded. "For example, waterbenders take control of their element in turns, often using the same material for a return attack that was directed at them in the first place. In fact, half of the fight can be determined by who can push the other's energy out quicker. This usually proves too cumbersome for earthbenders."

"Trying to slow down or redirect something that has so much of its own momentum is counterproductive." Toph shook her head. "But that doesn't mean it can't be done." She stomped, raising a boulder. She pointed, making a natural marker a few yards away. "Go there, Twinkles."

Aang obediently trotted over.

"Now, try to push it to me." She backtracked several steps.

He extended his hands towards it, tensing, and it stayed floating between them.

A few minutes passed as she lazily stood, with one hand thwarting his attempt.

Then she sank into a stance herself and it began to drift towards him, even as he was obviously resisting.

"Come on, Twinkles. You have to get completely into it."

Aang slid a foot back and straightened his spine. "Focus."

"Right."

A few times it moved towards her, but overall it ended up a foot from him.

"That will get better with practice." Toph said. "Iroh and I were comparing notes- and he suggested this exercise to deepen your feel of earth, even though it's not very useful as a fighting technique."

"Don't be so hasty, Toph." Iroh admonished. "There is no rule that says that's so. And it is always helpful to understand the underlying traits of all four disciplines as they relate to each other. Firebending and waterbending are similar in _this_ respect at least: It _is_ absolutely crucial to seize control when faced with someone of their same bending. Firebenders, when they divert or block, even hand to hand, are _actually_ taking control of others' attacks."

"Even though they're opposites." Aang mused.

"Which is the next point." Toph smirked triumphantly. "Earthbending and airbending are similar in what way?" She tested him.

"We both pull a lot of independent material." He realized. Blocking earth was a _physical_ imposition. And in airbending he had always been taught to take existing circumstances and adapt to them, not change them. "In conventional dueling I wouldn't turn to seizing control of another airbender's-" His throat tightened and his pulse quickened wistfully at the thought of ever encountering another airbender.

"You all right?" Toph asked, reading his distraught reaction.

* * *

Far away, a man was eagerly skimming a small leather-bound book.

Headings and inserts popped out in bold.

_The different Air Nomad Temples sometimes disagreed on how early young monks should venture from their homes. _

_It is believed that the bending ability in one hundred percent of the monks, as opposed to the fractional distribution of other populations and their focus on spirituality were partially due to four Entities that resided in each of the Temples._

_The practice of separating females and males-_

A small sand-colored fox suddenly skittered around a bookshelf and came to a halt in front of him. It began to whine and paw at his arm, several tails thrashing up and down urgently.

Professor Zei looked up from his reading. "What is it, Peto?" he asked. The fox caught hold of his shirt with his teeth and pulled. "All right, all right, I'm coming." The professor stood and stretched, once again feeling the knots that accumulated in his body as he submerged his mind in studying. The kitsune's anxiety seemed to increase at his unhurried motions; he disappeared back around the shelf. Unease crept up to nestle beside the professor's physical discomfort.

He jogged after the fast fox, who periodically poked his head back around bookshelves to make sure he was keeping up.

A huge black form was standing in the middle of the underground library, eyes closed. Nearly every one of the Knowledge Seekers was gathered around him, silently watching their Master.

The professor rushed up, and several foxes skirted out of his way. He addressed several of them quietly. "Sorry, Scitor, Capto, Quaero . . ." He craned his head up towards the owl. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Wan Shi Tong replied. "My Opposite is sending for me."

* * *

"I'm okay, really." Aang said for the second time as he copied Toph's movements to shift three small boulders at once. "I think you kind of owe Zuko an apology, though, Toph. You did yell at him, remember?"

She blew a bit of the hair out of her face. "Poor Dragonboy can't take a little venting, huh?"

"I can take whatever you can throw at me." The prince replied defensively from the sidelines of their workout.

She signaled to Aang to throw the rocks and his flew forward, but hers went in a different direction, towards the firebender. He leapt out of the way and exclaimed angrily, "I didn't mean that _literally!_"

Aang laughed.

Zuko, further instigated, said snidely to the earthbender, "So when_** I**_ want a moment alone, you stop me in my tracks, but then you see fit to just snap at me and roll off?"

"When did this happen?" Iroh asked.

"Lizard here got in a twist about leaving you and stealing a bunch of stuff. And I guess you were right to angst about the ostrich horse, but not for the reason you thought." Toph snorted at the irony, raising five boulders this time, and Aang lifted four, the fifth one straggling behind the others.

"Do you think they would have been more receptive if they hadn't found out our identities, uncle?" Zuko asked.

"You can't live in the 'if's."

Not in the least hindered by the conversation, Toph sent the five boulders forward, but Aang was stuck with three going, and two still. "Arrgh."

* * *

Wan Shi Tong spread one wing. "Come now, out of the way."

The foxes cleared a place for him. Peto gave a few barks and most twitched their ears towards him, then ran off to resume tasks they had left. Some picked up abandoned scrolls; some leaped over the banister and disappeared into the inky depths of the floors below.

Peto then walked beside his Master and yipped imploringly, standing on his hind legs and peddling his forelimbs.

"No. He cannot go." The owl shook his head.

Peto turned to his few remaining fellow foxes, repeating his argument with fervor.

They began to bark back and forth, nodding in support.

"Fine." The great raptor said in exasperation. "I will take him with me."

"Me?" Zei asked.

Peto gazed at him as if to say, _"You."_

* * *

"If you must know, Dragonboy, I feel bad for tricking my parents. And I'm sorry that got dumped on you, okay?"

He made a small accepting grunt. "All right."

"I guess we both have serious family issues."

"No kidding."

"Though, as far as I know, my father hasn't sent anyone after me," she said sarcastically.

* * *

"Your opposite, huh?" Zei asked. He surveyed the plain that had appeared before them. The lush, long-stalked bright green hay was definitely in stark contrast to the desert they had left behind in the Material World. Buds dotted the tips of most of the plants. Suddenly the petals all opened and Peto tugged on his sleeve again, pulling him to his right and pointing with a paw.

On his left, he saw an amorphous mist inching along, brushing against the tips of the opened flowers. They released what looked like pollen into the air and it absorbed it.

"Peto is right. Don't touch those." Wan Shi Tong warned sternly.

"What are they?"

"Next lives, preparing to re-enter the world."

Zei looked down and noticed that the grass under him was withering. "Am I doing something wrong here, too?"

"No, it's just-" Wan Shi Tong began-

"Wan Shi Tong! Wan Shi Tong! Here I am!" A small girl was waving her hand energetically to draw their attention. Her long-sleeved robe matched the hue of the plants so perfectly that it was hard to tell where the rest of the green and her form began. Her skin was a papery, ghostly white. Her hair, an intense blonde, rippled vibrantly and her laughter pinged like the gossamer wings of a hummingbird-beetle. "Good to see you!"

The effervescent little sprite skipped through the air up to the huge avian, bare feet brushing the tips of the grass like the soul, swinging her hands back and forth. Her large crystal-blue eyes, the same color as the inside throats of the flowers, took him in for a moment. "It's very nice of you to come to my call, Mighty One."

She nodded to the professor. "Hello, human. I am Thel, Keeper of Innocence."

* * *

"And I also had to remind your uncle here, that I'm not a sheltered little baby."

"Neither are you a crusty and withered old veteran." Iroh returned, voice colored with amusement.

"And that's _another_ thing, Lizard, you may win in the family-issue battle, but your uncle can out-angst you, so I don't want to hear any more whining about all the 'bad things' you _think_ you've done."

"Hello?" Aang said, waving a hand, "Earthbending Instructor needed here, guys."

* * *

Katara and Ty Lee had donned their blue outfits once more and were headed back towards the shop Ty Lee had pointed out earlier.

"Sokka seemed to like that butcher guy. I hope we find someone as accommodating as him." Katara said.

Ty Lee chuckled. "When Yunru first told us where meat came from, I thought she was playing a trick on us. That's the kind of thing she would do."

The dark-skinned girl, who had spent countless hours curing and preserving kills, raised an eyebrow. "How could you _not_ know where meat comes from?"

Ty Lee shrugged. "You know. It's brought to us already prepared . . . "

l

_It was sweltering under the summer sun of the Fire Nation._

_That didn't daunt the nobles who were hosting, however. The luncheon was huge, laid out for hundreds of people. All of the children were expected to be on their best behavior._

_An eight-year-old Ty Lee, sandwiched between all her sisters, straightened out her elaborate dress, which had far too many layers for anyone's taste at this temperature. They had all loved looking at the frills and the lace and cooing and gushing over them when they were on the hangers, but once they were on and everyone outside, it was suitably torture._

_Of course, the only one outwardly complaining was Yunru._

"_We all look like identical dolls." She said through clenched teeth._

"_Yeah!" The seven-year-old on Ty Lee's other side piped up happily, not catching on to her tone. "Just like when we play!"_

"_Shhh, Hira, not so loud." Weici said kindly._

"_Oops. Sorry." The little girl ducked her head slightly. _

"_I hope they don't overcook the beef again." Yunru muttered. "I'd almost rather have it walking around and still mooing than-"_

_Four smaller faces squinted in confusion at her statement. _

"_Huh?"_

"_What'd you say?"_

"_Walking around?"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_Yunru, that's not suitable discussion at the table." Meili whispered heatedly. _

_Yunru, however, already had mischievous silver in her eyes and turned to her next youngest sister. "Don't you know, Ty Lee? Beef is made out of a cowpig. After it's __**dead.**__"_

_Four small distressed gasps answered her._

"_Cowpig?"_

"_You're lying!"_

"_Nuh-uh!"_

"_Liar!"_

"_Shhhhh!" Meili glared. "Stop stirring them up!" She rapped her knuckles briskly on the surface. All the younger girls immediately went quiet at the gesture from the eldest._

_Yunru returned her gaze smugly._

_Waiters leisurely strolled down the tables, placing platters in the center. Serving knives and forks were laid out beside the thinly sliced beef. The four youngest were served while the other three helped themselves._

_Weici and Meili took serving spoons and ladled lentils and rice on their plates, not touching the main course._

"_Wait." Ty Lee said, now observing them with a new, closer eye. Careful to keep her voice down, she asked, "That's why you guys don't eat it, isn't it?"_

"_Well, it also helps you keep weight off." Weici pointed out. "Stay thin and pretty."_

_Meili nodded. _

"_So you can be a perfect little figurine, too, now." Yunru mocked bitterly. "A laaaa-dy." She took a bite out of her own beef, purposefully facing Meili and chewing with her mouth open for the first few bites._

"_Yunru, so help me-" Meili began-_

"_So . . ." Hira tugged on Ty Lee's shirtsleeve, drawing her attention away from the ensuing clash. She had pushed her plate away; she spoke in a distressed whisper. "It really **is** cowpig?"_

l

"Wait, wait, wait." The South Pole native said, her look becoming even more incredulous. "Stay _thin_?"

"Yeah."

"That's considered beautiful in the Fire Nation? Huh. Weird. A healthy woman is one who puts on weight. I mean, when I stop growing and using up my intake, I think I'll be really pretty once I fill out a little." She nodded down at her own slim body, mentally comparing it to the hardy, statuesque women of her home.

Ty Lee looked rather puzzled.

"But I guess . . ." she suddenly became thoughtful. "I guess we have to keep warm, so it might not be the same." She looked to her left. "Hey, isn't this the place?"

Ty Lee's head shot up at the sight of the shabby seamstress' shop. "Yeah!" She flounced up to the door and crossed the threshold, smiling widely.

The main room had three spinning wheels, one loom and two exitways that were draped instead of having doors, giving glimpses of the rest of the building.

The disarray inside was overbearing, to say the least. Nothing was sorted by any kind of system that the waterbender could identify, color, style, or stages of completeness. Pinned together garments were tossed haphazardly next to ones with finished seams. String and rolls of fabric were sticking out all around, stuffed into drawers and propped up against the wall. The smother of offending clutter gave the impression of the place being much smaller and more cramped than it already was.

Ty Lee stretched her arms above her head and gave a contented sigh. "The energy's so nice in here."

* * *

The Keeper of Innocence addressed the owl again. "So, Peto convinced you to bring him, did he? I think he is about to earn more of his tails, is he not?"

"He is persistent in his ends." Wan Shi Tong said dryly.

Peto grinned.

"I'm afraid I cannot stay long in your presence," She curtsied to Zei, "as it saps my strength, but I am nonetheless happy to meet you."

"Is that what's going on with the grass?" The professor asked the Spirit. The stalks around him were very brown by now, and keeling over. "I'm sorry for that."

"Grass?" She tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Remember humans' psyches have to visually interpret the Spirit World through what they are familiar with." Wan Shi Tong told the Otherworld Spirit.

"Oh, yes, that's right. It's been quite a while since I've had a human visit. So, what are you seeing, exactly?" She asked the professor.

"Flowers. And they're dying around me." Zei said sadly.

"Oh, they will-" she blinked for a moment, considering. "-they will grow back, I suppose is how it would appear to you. The disruption is only temporary, don't worry."

Peto rubbed against him reassuringly, nudging his hand with his nose.

At this she brightened. "Peto, it really is so good to see you again, too."

The fox crouched and happily pounced up to her. She hugged him tightly and he licked her face.

"I am glad you sent them to me." Wan Shi Tong said sincerely.

She nodded. "You needed company, holed up in that place, my friend."

She turned to Zei again. "Innocence and Knowledge are oftentimes opposed. But not always. A sense of discovery can remain new, even with experience." She beamed at him. "_You_ for instance. Your childlike wonder at learning new things. That's why Wan Shi Tong built his library, Professor. Not just because he liked the knowledge itself, but because he liked the human's thirst, their curiosity. Even when they are so blind compared to Spirits, still they seek to understand," She released Peto and laughed again as she floated upward, curling her toes and whizzing around him, arms spread wide, and parts of the plants seemed to blend and follow the hem of her dress.

Then she rose up to the owl's face and grew quiet. "Even a Spirit can lose his faith."

* * *

"Energy, hm?" Long, spindly fingers pushed aside the drapes. A woman appeared, bent over with age. She wore a deep forest-green robe with lime inlays along the sides that displayed the usual trapezoidal symbol for earth, with the swirl in the middle. All the sides of the shape were present, but extra atypical embroidery waved around the straight pattern. "You like what I've done with the place? That would make you a Spiritseer, then, wouldn't it, dear?"

Ty Lee nodded.

"Haven't seen another one in quite a while," the elderly seamstress mused. Her hazel eyes were framed neatly by deep, craggy creases as she examined the two girls.

"What does that really mean, anyway?" Katara asked. "What is a Spiritseer? I mean, we could all _see_ Wan Shi Tong and Hei Bai, and they were Spirits."

"Oh, Spiritseer is a _blanket_ term, young lady," she replied. "When in fact the blanket is not a single material, but a quilt. We are actually all quite different."

Katara waited for her to continue, but instead she walked along the dressers, plucking at various bits of string. Occasionally she would look back at them and her gaze would move as if following a path.

"We're here to try to find work." Ty Lee began cheerfully.

The woman didn't answer for a moment, continuing her strange actions.

"Do you need any help for a few days?" Ty Lee asked, a little more hesitantly.

"Huh? Hm? Oh, yes, I think I can put something in order for you."

"There are definitely some things that could be put in order around here." Katara muttered. "By the way, you didn't really answer my question . . . "

"Do either of you know how to spin yarn?" The woman asked, as if she hadn't heard her. "Need cotton . . . Spinning is a little bit more frustrating than stitching, mind you. Nowhere near as fulfilling as weaving, either, but that's a tad advanced . . . I think it's what you need to do . . ." she was almost talking to herself as she picked out three balls of yarn.

"What we need to do, or what you need done?" Katara asked.

The lady hummed a little to herself, cradling the soft spheres and winding and unwinding string around her fingers. "Oh, either way." She carefully scrutinized what she had collected and turned toward the girls.

"So is that what it should look like when we're done?"

"Oh Mahim, no, child. This is koala-wool." She tottered over to them. "I just like the feel of wool better, don't you?" She held out one of them as if to let them touch it, but then tossed it over her shoulder. "Ah well, can't be helped. It's hot and I don't start working with it for a while." She wandered away again.

Katara muttered behind her hand to Ty lee. "I think she's a little 'unraveled around the edges' if you know what I mean."

Ty Lee tilted her head. "What?"

Katara shook her head. "Never mind."

* * *

Thel went on as she swirled around Zei again. "Your new student bursts with questions, Wan Shi Tong. And yet you have brushed him off."

Her shockingly blue eyes gazed steadily at him. "Ask him now, that which you most want to know."

Zei looked around at the surrounding dead stalks again. "Are all the Air Nomads really gone? Are there none in hiding?"

Wan Shi Tong sighed deeply.

"Yes, as it stands now, there is only one."

* * *

The seamstress, approaching them again, pinched the sleeve of Katara's outfit. "Oh, now, this is sealskin, is it not?" She squinted into the girl's face. "You Water Tribe, then?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Yoora." She shook her hand with a feeble grip. "Pleased to meet you."

"I'm Katara."

She turned to the acrobat and shook likewise.

"I'm Ty Lee."

"You're from the Fire Nation, dearie?"

Katara looked down at the other girl's blue outfit and started, "How did you know-"

"Um-" Ty Lee faltered, unsure if she should tell the Earth Kingdom lady her birthplace, now that she had been newly chastised by the waterbender after the encounter with Suki.

"Now I wouldn't go spreading it around, but you're perfectly fine here. Any companion of the Avatar is welcome in my shop. And-"

"Wait a second, is this Spiritseeing stuff telling you all this?" Katara pressed.

"It's bad manners to interrupt, dear." The seamstress said absently. "Now, we're going to start you on the 5-point spinner . . ."

* * *

"Your presence has done more for him than you know, Zei," Thel said gently, "even in this short time. He has been rejuvenated by your enthusiasm, and you share a connection already. Never let him tell you any differently. But now-" She touched the giant owl at the downward peak of his heart-shaped face. "I have a task for you, Knowledgeable One. Someone is missing from my domain." She cast her eyes out into the field, where several souls drifted, harvesting the strange dust. Several disappeared and more arrived just in the moment she took to pause.

He blinked as her fingers shone a bright white.

"Ah. That is a long way to go, Innocence Keeper." He said hesitantly. "And I would have been adamantly unwilling to fulfill that task but a little while ago."

She nodded. "I had to wait on you."

Wan Shi Tong lengthened slowly into his wyvern form.

Peto hopped up onto his back and whined for Zei to follow.

"W-where are we going?" Zei asked.

"Come. I will explain on the way."

* * *

Twenty or so minutes after the two girls began spinning, Yoora exclaimed without any sort of indication, "Oh! You were asking about the strings, weren't you dear?"

Katara looked up at her. "Which strings?" She looked down at what she had completed already.

The woman chuckled, "The ones that thread from you to other people, of course. With you two, I've never been able to see so much without contact before."

"So you have to be touching someone? Not like Ty Lee."

"You mean you can see things all the time?" The woman asked the acrobat.

Ty Lee nodded.

"Ha! Just like my cousin. Well, I'm getting a little taste of that today. I could see the Avatar the minute you two stepped in here. It is so exciting to know he's so near. By the way he's running and jumping about I'm sure he's training, correct?"

"So that's how you knew Ty Lee wasn't Water Tribe."

Yoora bobbed her head. "Yes, and, you have _so_, so many connections. The strange thing is almost all of them seem to go one way."

"Maybe that's because she's a performer?" Katara offered.

"Oh, I see. Many people have 'met' and remember you, but you do not know all of them . . ." Yoora narrowed her eyes in concentration. "Both of you are bound very tightly to the Avatar, albeit in slightly different ways." She gave what could only be considered a coy glance to Katara, and the girl blushed.

Ty Lee's face lit up as she caught on. "You like him?"

"Well . . . I don't know." Katara bit her lip.

The old woman looked up to the ceiling, blinking like a cat-owl. "Another Spiritseer- or Spiritwalker, perhaps, as well? And-" she frowned a little, digging lines further into her face. "The last one, he's much fainter but-" she smiled slowly. "You are both bound to him just as tightly, though the roles are somewhat reversed." Her eyes re-focused on them. "Never been able to see this much with no contact." She repeated. "May I get a better look again?"

Ty Lee offered her hand a second time.

"Just keep spinning, dear, I don't need your hand particularly." She laid her own hand on her shoulder. After a few moments her expression had gradually fallen more and more and her eyebrows knitted together. "Oh my."

Ty Lee fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Many of those that you love you also draw a great deal of strife from."

l

_A ten-year-old sat in a thickly carpeted room. There was no furniture excepting a few chairs against the walls. It was one of many she could have chosen- after all the mansion had twenty different ones. There was a hard-floored one on the third level where she and several others practiced dance steps with Meili. But this one was much more comfortable for stationary yoga. With one leg extended and one knee folded, she bent over to place her entire hand across the bottom of the far foot, face relaxed. She would have liked to take a day or two to unwind after the stresses of exams but unfortunately-_

"_Ty Lee, Ty Lee, Ty Lee!" _

_-home was never quiet for long._

"_Ty Lee! So did you like classes? Was it hard? Whatcha doin'?" The younger girl dropped to her hands and knees and looked at her sister's newly scrunched face, energetically badgering her with questions._

"_It was fine, Jia. I'm trying to center myself . . . " Ty Lee said tiredly, not feeling like explaining what that meant._

"_Hey guess what, guess what," Jia went on; the six-year-old was completely oblivious to her sister's annoyance, "Mom bought me an outfit that looks just like yours! Look, look!"_

_Ty Lee reluctantly cracked open an eye to see a pink ensemble that did indeed look a lot like the one she, Meili and Hira had taken to wearing. Even the square collar was the same._

"_And I dress all by myself, now, too, Ty! None of the maids have to help any more! Isn't that cool!" _

"_It's not a big deal, okay, Jia! Just go away!" Ty Lee snapped suddenly. "Why don't you get your own kind of clothes instead of copying all of us!"_

_The child's stream of words was cut off and she stared at her, hurt welling in her silver eyes._

_Ty Lee's own eyes softened. "Jia, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"_

_But the girl had already risen from her place and bolted for the door with most of the agility of her older sister._

_Ty Lee stayed in the same position for several minutes, then released her foot and switched to the other, shaking her head moodily. _

_After about a half an hour a new hand placed itself on the curved, burnished handle of the door, which had been left ajar. Its counterpart held a wide, soft-bristled brush._

_Ty Lee looked up and with a resigned air sat up straight, Indian style._

_Her older sister walked wordlessly into the room and knelt behind her, unwinding her braid. It was a semi-ritual- sometimes, when there was a problem, Weici would come to whoever needed advice- or in some cases chastisement- and undo what ever hairstyle they had up at the moment- braid, bun, topknot, or ponytail, and begin to comb before asking her questions. _

_She was going to beat around the bush a little this time. __"I guess I should maybe join you stretching. That ride was killer, as always." She joked._

_It was almost a week's trip from the Capitol- with coaches going over potholes and gravel roads. The rough battering all day long did a number on all the girls. It was a wonder any of them could sit down properly when they finally arrived.  
_

_Ty Lee nodded, but quickly stopped in order not to hinder the comb that was still moving against her head. "I bet they don't envy me."_

_"I bet not." Weici said. "You and Mai still get caught between them sometimes?"_

_The only answer was a resigned sigh._

_After a few more moments her sister finally addressed the issue at hand. "So you yelled at Jia? That isn't like you, Ty."_

_"I didn't mean to, Wei, it's just that . . . At school, everyone knows who I am. They know I'm **Ty Lee**. Not Meili, not Yunru, and not Hira." She left off the name of her present sister and her youngest sisters, Lin and Jia, who hadn't started at the Academy yet. "But here, we're all just 'one of the girls.'"_

_"Because you're friends with the princess?" The elder confirmed. "They all know you there."_

_She buried her face into her hands in frustration. "But no one in town knows the difference. The servants hardly do." She didn't even touch on the subject of parents; that was too painful to even bring up. Fine, maybe she could deal with people who were simply paid to wait on you, but your own parents mixing you up all the time?_

"_You and Lin call this negative energy, right?" Weici smiled sadly, pulling the trapped bangs out from under her sister's fingers.  
_

_Ty Lee sighed again. Lin could see auras as well. It was lucky that her own abilities were more fine-tuned to chi, or else she might have harbored stronger resentment against the second youngest, through no fault of her own, for encroaching on something that she could trust was hers, and **only** hers. Even the way Weici had said their names on the same breath annoyed her. Even when she was being nice, it seemed to always be 'You and someone, you and someone,' never just 'you.'_

_As if on cue, the elder said, "Yunru seems to take it so personally, the name mix-ups. I didn't realize it bothered **you**, too."_

_She had always been perfectly fine with fitting in, with blending in seamlessly to the chipper and ebullient little community of her siblings. __Until her next oldest sister's constant earworms finally burrowed into her head, and the notoriety at school became a norm. __She was the type of person who could float- thoughtlessly, shallowly, blissfully. Frankly, it had taken some powerful forces to wear her down to this point. In a way, she was having to come to terms with the **loss** of something. N__ow that a genuine desire for an identity had taken root, there was no way to get it out. _

_Ty Lee threw up her hands and exclaimed despairingly, "I'm not even **original** by **wanting** to be **different**!"_

_The elder broke out into soft chortling triggered by the oxymoron in her statement. She quickly tried to stifle her amusement with her hand over her mouth._

"_Weeehh-hheeei." Ty Lee whined, turning to face her. "It's not __**funny!**__"_

"_I'm sor-rry, I'm s-sorry," She was obviously sincerely trying to stop, to quash out the tickled quaver of her voice. But the two pairs of silver eyes met and the younger sister couldn't help but crack up. Weici was a wellspring of positive energy. Most of her sisters were. _

_The two girls laughed for a good three minutes, their mirth feeding off each other. Every time one would regain breath, they'd catch sight of the other again and sink back into another round of laughter. After a hearty stage of giggling, the fit finally abated._

_Ty Lee unfolded her legs after they settled down, very much invigorated by the release of tension. She and her siblings could all bounce between moods so fast, it often sent others reeling. She rolled forward on her feet in one easy motion. And couldn't she be a source of positive energy, too, despite all of this? If only she could focus on how much fun they always had together. She was a highly, highly social creature, after all. "I'm going to go find Jia to apologize." _

l

Yoora stepped to Katara next, repeating the procedure. "Mmmmmm."

Katara's heart suddenly leapt to her throat and she fumbled with what she was doing. "C-can you . . . can you see where my dad is?"

"Well I should hope so. You Water Tribe are certainly all very close-knit, if you don't mind the expression."

Katara shook her head. "O-of course not." She smiled at Ty Lee. "We could go see our dad when we leave!" She fisted the string she had created excitedly. "Let's keep it a secret for now, we'll surprise Sokka with it!"

Ty Lee smiled back. "You really like your dad, don't you?"

Katara's face fell. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't think of your dad . . ."

Ty Lee shrugged. "It's okay. I don't hate him. Really. It was just complicated . . ."

l

" _. . . and Yunru, why- why in the __**world**__ would you do this to your hair . . . ?"_

_Yunru squirmed under her father's abashed scrutiny. "I cut it. Is it really that important?" She fingered the strands. They were much too short to be considered feminine at all. She couldn't even pull them back in any sort of arrangement. The hasty work of self-applied scissors was uneven, but there was definitely an intended slope to the zigzag pattern of the ends. With her other hand she rubbed self-consciously at the thin, cheap cotton pants she had thrown on that morning._

_He stumbled clumsily over his words. "Y-you look like some peasant who can't take care of themse-"_

"_I got into advanced classes at the Boy's Academy!" Yunru blurted. "And seriously? __**This **__is what you want to talk to me about? This is so **ridiculous**__**.**__" She stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her._

"_What has gotten into her?" Her father asked quietly of the three remaining siblings, Weici, Meili, and Ty Lee. "I find her traipsing about the house in those old rags and-" He moved his hand in a slow, incoherent gesture._

"_We'll go talk to her, Father." Meili said. "She shouldn't be so disrespectful."_

_The three hurried after their sister, but Weici caught Meili's arm. "Maybe you should just let Ty Lee and me handle this. You know she won't respond to you well."_

_Meili huffed. "Fine." She put her hands to her hips and snorted vainly. "She's always taken this all out on __**me**__ since she has never has the guts to actually say anything to him. I guess I should be __**thanking**__ her or something." _

"_But you still don't like seeing father upset." Ty Lee said meekly._

_Meili shook her head. "No. He doesn't deserve any of this. She always acts like such a __**child.**__"_

_They found her shut up in one of the study rooms. Her nose was buried in a history book, and she sat at a high desk and straight-backed cushioned chair, all three of which looked much too big for the young girl._

"_Yunru." Weici said softly._

"_Guess I've circumvented your weird little hair-fixation-therapy." Yunru said sourly, not looking up. "And before you say anything, of course I have to go apologize to him. He does control everything."_

"_He pays for everything, yes." Weici replied. "Your tuition, your board-"_

"_I know, I know. Leaving aside the fact that he thinks learning to hold a teacup properly is more important for us. As soon as I graduate I'm out of here. My thirteenth birthday will be here before he knows it. And then I'll be out of his __**hair**__." She snorted slightly at her own joke, and Ty Lee giggled._

_She shot her a venomous look, and Ty Lee quickly straightened her face._

"_You always paint him like the bad guy." Weici implored her. "When he could just as easily teach you the basics of reading and writing and be done with it- he isn't obligated to send any of us to the Capitol for school."  
_

_Yunru massaged her forehead agitatedly. "It's not about the money . . . heh, but in a way it's still basic economic theory." She chuckled darkly. "The more silver you have, the less it's worth. He doesn't really value any of us. Well . . ." her brow furrowed, "Maybe you and Mei. But only 'cause you __**try**__ so Agni-scorching __**hard**__." _

_She finally looked up to her, silver eyes flashing in resentment. "And do you and Meili even __**listen**__ to yourselves when you __**defend **__him? You make it sound like it's __**our**__ fault, or something. For being burdens. For being girls."_

"_That's not what I-"_

_"It's not what you want to say." __Yunru stiffly looked back down into her book.__"But it's what you really think. And until you figure out that it's **not** your fault, you're going to be stuck in the same lazy rut as Mei. Just because we're nobles doesn't mean we can't stand on our own like other women. Ever since the middle class gained access to the Royal Academy- they've made more use of it. The best education anywhere in the entire world- and they appreciate it more than **you** do-" she said angrily, "because they have to earn it."_

_"It's your prerogative if you want to **aspire** to be like people lower than you. I'm only asking that you keep some** semblance** of politeness to **your** Father, who makes it possible in the first place. As for us, our duties to our family's reputation take precedent over everything else." _

_"You just cling to that, Wei. Be a pampered little dependent. See if I care."_

_"__You always make marriage sound like the end of the world," she replied bemusedly. "Seriously, when are you going to stop being so melodramatic? It's unbecoming of you. You're better than this."_

_Yunru rolled her eyes at the backhanded compliment.  
_

"_Well, we know that no one's ever going to mix you up with the rest of us again, don't we?" Ty Lee smiled understandingly as she tucked her own bangs behind her ear. "You could have asked one of us to do it for you, Yun. Maybe it would have turned out bett-"_

"_And who asked you __**your**__ opinion?" Yunru cut her off. "I'll bet you don't understand half of what we say, with **your** grades. Why don't you go play with Hira or something within your comprehension?"_

"_Yunru!" Weici scolded as Ty Lee's face crumpled. She stepped over to her. "Don't listen to her, Ty." She spoke quietly back to the seated girl. "We all know why you're mean to her and Hira." It was the same reason she had cut her hair. "But it's no **excuse**."  
_

"_Guess I'm going to go change and grovel or something." Yunru grumbled as she clapped the book shut, pointedly ignoring her comment. "Because like it or not, I'm still a dependent right now." _

_She brushed past her younger sister._

_Her head passed by a few inches shorter than Ty Lee's._

_l_

"Seppen," The seamstress said suddenly in a scolding tone, "put that back. We have company and I don't want you making a mess right now."

Katara and Ty Lee followed her gaze to see a scrawny white cat, looking very chastised, place a lime ball of yarn in his mouth back into a basket and meow forlornly.

"Yes, yes, I know. But if you won't pick up after yourself-"

He put a paw over his face in embarrassment.

"You know I don't mind, it's just that-"

He mewed meekly and took a stray thread in his mouth and placed it next to the ball.

"Really? You will?"

The feline's lean face, which had a tan patch in the shape of a "Y" over its eyes and down its nose, and a thin beard and mustache, was very solemn as he nodded.

"All right, then."

Seppen gave a sonorous purr and then took the yarn back out, rolling it across the floor.

"That's nice of him." Ty Lee commented.

"It's not as if this place could get much worse, anyway." Katara muttered under her breath.

* * *

Wan Shi Tong and his two companions stood on the edge of a huge gorge. The rock face was artificially smooth- well, that was the adverb he would use to describe it, Zei thought to himself. But although the surface itself was featureless and austere, it bent back on itself to form sterile-looking spikes and corners.

Peto hopped down ledges, sniffing and searching for something.

"Can he actually smell, here?" Zei asked Wan Shi Tong.

"No, but he has other senses. He's going through the motion because he's accustomed to doing so." The owl replied.

The fox lifted his snout, looking for all the world as if he were scenting the air. Then he scampered further, placing his paws carefully and investigating every surface he could safely reach without catching himself on the sharp surrounding features. Finally his ears perked and he barked to his Master, tails wagging with discovery.

"All right, then."

Once again, Peto stepped up the side of the cliff to sit on his Master's back, and Zei did likewise. The great wyvern glided down, carefully steering clear of mesas and outcroppings.

An ear-splitting scream rent the quiet, making Zei reel backwards. He lost his grip on the raptor's feathers and toppled down his back.

"Careful!" Wan Shi Tong braked abruptly, catching him expertly by his shirt ruff with one claw.

"S-so, the l-laws of physics s-still ap-pply?" A wide-eyed Zei looked down at the drop he had narrowly avoided.

Wan Shi Tong chuckled. "To an extent."

The source of the scream came into view as he rounded a canyon wall.

A stout Spirit with what seemed like scaly metal plates of armor stood at ease. The rusty plates twitched up and down subtly, as if very much alive. The whip he carried, too, swished and writhed of its own accord. He turned his face up to them, small eyes glowing deep red. His mouth wasn't visible, and his voice seemed to simply emanate from somewhere around his middle. "Wan Shi Tong. Are you here to witness this human's punishment? We have to give him breaks between or his mind adapts to it, you see."

"As tempting as that sounds, I am, in fact, here to relieve you of your duty." Wan Shi Tong replied, still maneuvering downward, long tail swishing back and forth.

The Spirit snickered. Behind him, a man was suspended from large, crisscrossing spikes piercing him everywhere. He was limp and quivering.

"That's Admiral Zhao?" Zei whispered.

Peto's hackles rose and his tails puffed out.

The Spirit brought the whip up, but instead of striking, the tip simply snaked forward to the former admiral's face and touched him between the eyes. Zhao's scream seemed to warp the very space itself as the straight lines of the rock face abruptly twisted. He jerked back and forth, desperately trying to pull away, causing the spikes that were holding him to slice viciously. What showed was not tendons or muscles but a musty sludge that oozed and dripped to the ground in thick puddles. Even as the bizarre gore showed, he healed. The wounds opened, closed, and reopened again in a grotesque repetition.

The black raptor set Zei down on his feet. As soon as he had landed himself, he snapped his beak and the whip came away from Zhao.

"By what authority do you command me, Wan Shi Tong?" The Spirit's armor became more animated and it sparked and clinked with indignation. "La has sentenced him, and he will decide when- or if, he is to be freed."

"He did not know the severity of his crime," he asserted.

"The Spiritwalker warned him not to interfere with us." The armored Spirit replied unsympathetically.

"Iroh understood the balance. If he had slain La, you would be able to rightfully torture him." The wyvern arched his long neck, spread his talons, and beat his wings, and the spikes disappeared. Zhao crumpled on the ground and was completely still as the sections of his ravished body slowly recovered. A shimmering mist seeped from him and rose, like an inverted dye-drop. He gave a deeply relieved moan as it came away from him.

"You will have to face La, Wan Shi Tong." The Spirit declared flatly as he stalked away, plates jangling with each step.

"I will speak with him, do not worry." The owl said calmly as he straightened again. He looked to his side to see Zei bent over, face pale and lips slightly parted. His stomach heaved.

The owl sighed. "You're not able to throw up here."

"That _doesn't_- make me _feel_- any _better_." The thoroughly mortified man gasped.

The owl curved his neck towards him. "Then perhaps this will help."

He brushed his long flight feathers over Zei's forehead, and the man straightened and breathed more easily. He blinked several times. "What did you- do?"

"I erased your memory, but not your understanding. You did not need to witness that. No human does, I suppose."

Zei screwed up his eyes. "That is . . . so strange. I remember my revulsion, but not what happened to him." He bowed. "Thank you."

"It is nothing." He replied brusquely. "Perhaps one day . . ." he stopped.

"Hmmm?"

"Never mind."

The form that had detached itself from Zhao slithered through the air. The three stepped aside to give it a wide berth.

"So that's-"

"His next life, yes. Thel will be waiting for it."

It picked up speed, flying away from them.

"It is in for a rough road yet, but at least it is not chained down here any more, forced into stagnancy. A very cruel and unnatural punishment, though not wholly unexpected."

Below, Zhao was getting to his feet. He looked up, wide-eyed at the owl, and opened his mouth as if to ask-

"_I will give you no direction from here!_" The black raptor roared preemptively, brandishing his wings angrily.

Zhao blanched and stumbled, falling to the ground several times in his haste to get away from the draconian figure, going the opposite direction of the liberated mist.

Wan Shi Tong folded his wings and gazed after him long after he had disappeared from sight before saying absently, "Thel reminded me that ignorance is a type of innocence. And she asked that I intervene."

"And you didn't want to?"

"No. I didn't." He rumbled. "But I can't argue against her logic. As much as I hate to admit it, he did not have the knowledge to warrant such punishment, only the vainglory ingrained by his Nation." He paused. "I suppose I can rest easy knowing that he still has much hardship to endure here, and in his next life as well."

* * *

"The Spirit World is superimposed on this world." Yoora was saying, after more prompting from Katara. Holding a conversation with the spacey woman was proving somewhat difficult. "And there several smaller planes between the two as well."

"Auntie Ryu would say layers in a cake," Ty Lee chirped.

"Some times and places, the cake is squished together." Yoora took up her comparison easily, chuckling again.

"Like the solstices. Or Spirit dwellings." Katara reflected.

"We ourselves exist on all the planes at once, even though when we are alive, it is mostly the Material. They say that Spiritseers' past lives chase after their souls shortly after they are separated, unwilling to let go, and spend their time following along a close orientation in the Spirit World that coincides with this one." She shuffled over to the loom, which sported a half-finished tapestry. She traced a finger down one column of stitches. "See how the string itself changes. But often times, patterns in history repeat. We are strung along sometimes by our family's past, as well as our past lives. One is like the descending pattern. And the other is like the specific color of a string, reappearing after it weaves under."

* * *

Suddenly Peto tackled the professor, and he fell to his hands and knees. A small foreleg pressed down on the back of the head, forcing him down further, and the small kitsune growled into his ear as he curled around his several tails tightly around his head. Oddly, he couldn't really feel the touches or the fur, but they were there just the same. Zei followed the wordless instruction and warning trustingly, prostrating to the ground and holding still. At least he didn't have to worry about suffocating, he thought wryly into the newfound blindness. He actually thought this fairly logical; if he shouldn't have seen Zhao's punishment, maybe there were other things he shouldn't behold as well.

A voice sounded that made his blood run cold. If he could have felt blood running under his skin at the present moment, that is.

"Wan Shi Tong. My old student. How are you?"

* * *

"So Spiritseers are more sensitive to those parts of us that are above the material plane." Katara said. "And they're more in sync with their past lives, usually?"

"The ones who are born Spiritseeing, yes. Other times visits to the Spirit World, or training, can put you in touch with the higher planes."

"Because the Avatar isn't the only human who can go to the Spirit World, either." Katara shook her head.

The old woman grinned crookedly. "I can't say my cousin or I have done anything near as that exciting, though."

"He's just the one who has most ready access to it?" Katara asked about her airbending friend.

"Oh, and I think he is a little less constrained by the space between him and his lives, dear. They don't have to follow him around. They can be anywhere in the Otherworld they want to be, and still they are bound tightly to him."

* * *

"What brings you this far afield?" The giant raptor's voice questioned the new presence cautiously.

"Ah, now, what kind of greeting is that? Reverence for your elders, Young One, is the most basic of courtesies." No true irritation was present in the statement, only a detached nonchalance.

"My apologies, Most Ancient and Knowledgeable Sifu. I have forgotten myself."

"You have evidently chosen to forget so much of what you have learned, as well. Reconsidering, are you?"

Peto growled again, but it was muffled, as if he had his mouth closed instead of in a snarl and shifted around Zei to stand on his shoulders. He tapped a paw on his neck, allowing him to stand, but kept his tails firmly in place around his head.

"You must control your pet, Wan Shi Tong. I am not hunting now, but am quarry."

"You cannot blame him for harboring grievance, Teacher," the owl replied.

"Mmmm." It paused. "Will you answer my query?"

"It is true that humans are selfish. Kyoshi did not raise a finger against Chin until he threatened her own homeland. Kuruk neglected his duties, and then almost abandoned them altogether to pursue his wife. Humans are very violent as well. Yangchen learned that sometimes this was the only way people would respect her authority." He paused. "But are Spirits not guilty of the same extremes?"

"Ha. You so desperately wish to be a Spirit of Knowledge and Logic, and yet you yourself are governed by emotion as well. Poor Little One, it is never to be, is it? You still carry resentment against the one who tricked you, and you grow attached to this lowly human with each passing day. In a different series of events you might have killed the Avatar yourself, sheerly out of spite. How ever will you be perfect?"

As it talked there was rhythmic scuttling of something moving against the hard surface, drawing closer.

Peto let out a more ferocious, but still muted, growl. He flattened himself further against the professor.

"Your mistrust _cuts_ me to the _quick_, kitsune." The voice mocked with feigned hurt. "I am simply _curious._ Where is the harm in simply _seeing_ a face?"

* * *

"So Yoora," Katara asked, "You mentioned your cousin was a Spiritseer too? What does she see?"

"She can see all sorts of sickness." Yoora replied in her tinny voice. "Says she can almost taste it on the air. What kinds, and what to give for them. She thinks she was a waterbender- a healer in a past life."

"Really? That's an odd coincidence."

"What is, dear?"

Katara raised an eyebrow. "'Cause I'm a healer . . . ?"

"Oh, you're a bender?"

"You couldn't tell with that . . . Spiritseeing?"

"No."

Katara's mouth twitched. "Oh, right. 'Quilt, not blanket.'"

"What in the world are you talking about?" Yoora looked at her foggily. "We're only spinning string right now, dear. Do you want to make a quilt?"

"No- you made that comparison before when-" She gave up in the middle of her statement when her listener's look didn't display any comprehension. "Anyway-" She chewed over what she had said for a moment. "I knew not only the Avatar is reincarnated, but I didn't know other people could carry traits of their past lives."

* * *

"You know, I could swear," Aang panted as he sparred with Toph, "that that boy I was talking about before, Jinju? Remember?" He raised a wall, enduring a flurry of stones, "That had trouble with airbending? Now that you pointed out the similarity between earth and air, it's almost like-" he broke a section of it off- "he was an earthbender trying to learn airbending. And he liked to stay dirty, too." He taunted.

Toph smirked, swatting away his attack. "Hey, Twinkles, take it from somebody who has to use her _nose_ as well as her ears all the time since _these_ are useless-" she stretched her eyelids, making a face, "_Good, clean_ dirt doesn't smell bad. But you know what _does? Sweat!_" As she talked she stomped, but the two different attacks came from behind him, and he almost didn't block in time- "And I'm going to make you _reek!_ Besides, you have enough breath to _talk?_ I'll give you _dirty!_ You'd better _watch out!_"

* * *

Yoora babbled happily. "What sealed the deal for my cousin is when she met a waterbender. And well-" She placed all the tips of her fingers against one another. "First of all, do you know, that men and women have different relationships to the elements?"

Katara's jawline became hard. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, this interesting little tidbit she learned from the waterbender she met- certainly no man could share the feature- that a certain monthly cycle followed the Mistress Moon's waxing and waning. I don't think you are too young to know what I'm talking about, are you, dear?"

A blush slowly crept up Katara's neck again.

"Here in the Earth Kingdom, most of our sacred priests are women. Because allegedly, they have a more attuned connection to our Earth Mother, Mahimata. That is what I thought of the moment I heard about the waterbender. Now that is some interesting stuff, no?"

Katara nodded sheepishly.

"I think the sages in the Fire Nation are all boys." Ty Lee observed.

"I've heard that." The old woman nodded. "Agni himself is male, as well, so the legend goes." She clucked her tongue. "My cousin, I bet, would love to meet you. We do have more Water Tribe trickling through since the trade routes were opened up . . . But she won't move over here. I worry about her, sometimes, out at the Ruins of Taku all alone."

Katara fumbled again with her work, and the string snagged. "R-ruins of Taku? Y-your cousin doesn't . . . ever p-prescribe . . . _frozen frogs_, by any chance, does she?"

"Ah yes."

Katara gave a Sokka-worthy face-palm.

* * *

"Peto." The owl instructed.

The tails slowly let up on their constriction and the professor gasped, eyebrows shooting up and mouth hanging open.

The enormous centipede-like creature gave a many-layered, spine-tingling laugh. "A most expressive one, this." The black-haired human face at its head said. "Were you not under protection, I would be most fortunate to take up your countenance." The upright portion of its body swayed back and forth slightly. "I am Koh, Snatcher of Visages."

Wan Shi Tong was almost between him and the face-stealer, back in his original form with the white eyespots on the back of his head visible again, instead of the two feather-tufts.

He turned back towards the black owl. "The Avatar came to visit me as well, recently." The professor started as the face of the centipede winked to give way to that of a tawny owl's, with light jade eyes. "I spoke to him with this very same face. I hardly think he knows the significance of it."

"Just because your ability once served a purpose, does not excuse all the harm you have done."

"I will take the retribution as it comes, Young One." The face-stealer replied lazily.

Thundering barks echoed off the rock face and Zei jumped closer to the owl, now thoroughly unnerved. He looked up just in time to see a long, turqoiuse form flashing down the canyon, with so much similar movement as Peto had done previously while seeking out Zhao, except in fast-forward, before the owl had folded a wing around him.

He was swept off his feet and and carried a distance before being released from the dark envelope of feathers.

The sleek, turquoise-furred mass of sinew had already reached the face-stealer by now, and its blue-clad rider expertly clung to its neck, thrusting a heavy whale-jaw spear at their adversary. Watching shakily, the professor's mind sorted out the necessary information to label these as Avatar Kuruk, and his mount Zburator. Had he not read about his wife's abduction and the Spirit responsible? But he had seen no illustrations or descriptions of the Spirit.

The serpentine canine was snapping and lunging at the centipede's segmented body. The insectoid responded in kind by twisting and turning out of its way, trying to keep its face trained on the long snout and small eyes, waiting for any sign of a lip curl or furrowed brow. But Koh ended up snarling instead as the eel-wolf caught hold of two of his legs. He dragged the opposing three across the canine's side. It gave a sharp yelp from the scratches and the man braced the spear to thwart the eight arms from closing in around the eel-wolf's pain-displaying head. The insectoid thrashed, throwing the canine off, and grappled, trying to pin the human and wrench away his weapon.

The canine came at him again, barreling into his side and knocking him off the former Avatar. The face-stealer squirmed swiftly away, taunting over his shoulder. "Ah, such fun it is to be both the cat and mouse. But you have other duties to attend to, here."

The Water Tribe man sat up, and the canine curled around him, whining concernedly. "I'm all right." He assured and patted its neck with a thankful thump. They watched the face-stealer retreat with their backs to the professor and the owl.

Finally Zburator turned in his place, and the man stood. "That you would simply stand by is _beyond_ me, Wan Shi Tong."

"I have my own charge to watch, Avatar."

Peto touched the professor in indication.

"And my Sifu may be but a shadow of his former self. But the fact remains that I learned much from him, as so many humans and past lives who are stalwart enough do." There was something distinctly wrong with the owl's voice, Zei thought. When he moved his gaze away from the impressive sight of the eel-wolf and looked up to the raptor again, he was convinced that surely his body back at the library would have a heart-attack.

The owl's white face was gone.

"That is all very _fine talk_," Kuruk snapped, "when you have nothing to _fear!_"

An acknowledgment came from the now blank black head. "It is true, that a Spirit is not killed by his ability. But his victims are not marred in any way in spirit, either, at least. There are worse things."

"So my wife's next life was unimpeded," Kuruk replied angrily, "He still cut her current one at the time short. A life that she will not get to live. As with _all _the faces he has taken."

"And I made no move to defend him, either, did I?" Wan Shi Tong replied impassively. "Murder is murder."

At this statement Kuruk unexplainedly tensed up, twisting his hand around his spear apprehensively. "And now you wish to see my Father Spirit?"

* * *

Katara and Ty Lee joined up with Sokka again, as the rest of the town disgorged its working masses at the end of the day. The two girls had been telling him about their conversation with the old seamstress.

"Spirit World, huh?" Sokka scratched his chin. "I went to the Spirit World once."

"Really?" Ty Lee asked.

"Yeah." He suddenly puffed himself up proudly. "Got snatched right up by this big, ferocious six-legged-"

"It was a peaceful panda forest spirit." Katara corrected with straight face.

"Heeeeey! Not when it grabbed me!" Sokka protested. "Let me tell the story!" Katara giggled as her brother swatted at her.

He slung one arm around Ty Lee's neck, and spread his other hand dramatically. "So there I was, watching little Aang cower in front of this weirdo, ginormous, razor-fanged beast! And I _had_ to save him of course . . ."

* * *

Zei was moving again, riding atop the black avian. Again, he was listening to information Wan Shi Tong disseminated. This time however, the voice he was hearing was strangely disembodied and he watched their escort down below, sprinting over the surface of this world.

"I'm surprised an _Avatar_ would be trying to kill a Spirit _at all._" Zei said. "Is Koh so unimportant to the Balance that his passing would have no consequences?"

"If Kuruk were to succeed, there would be no _dire _repercussions." Wan Shi Tong told him. "Koh was here before the split between the worlds. Before the Avatar. Spirits would come to him when they wanted to change their form. It used to be, that _all_ beings communicated emotions and thoughts to each other directly. But when humans were created, they did not share this ability, at least not to the extent of pre-existing spirits, and thier form changes- what you know as discreet but sequential lives- operated differently from anything that had come before. Other spirits took on expressive faces, as well, because they liked the idea. Koh in particular became fascinated, entranced, and eventually obsessed with the physical mechanism for conveying emotion, expression. He began to collect the prized faces, and take them before Spirits were prepared to morph- abusing his position. They were forced to avoid and shun him, and in retaliation, alternate means for change were forged. His appetite for new ones now only grows and feeds off of itself. His original function is now obsolete, and he is simply a parasite."

"B-but an owl's face doesn't display emotion." Zei puzzled as he stroked Peto thoughtfully. The canine had been very subdued throughout the entire flight, not shifting or even swishing his tails. "Why would he want it?"

"On the whole he is never satiated. He collects any sorts of faces he can, now." The raptor explained. "Because he does not have as much access to living humans since the material world has rifted farther away. He cannot go after the faces of past lives that dwell in the Spirit World, only if they come to him first, as Kuruk has done- he puts himself in peril of vanishing entirely with every attempt on the facestealer's life. That's why he was outraged that I did not assist him."

"And wait." Zei said. "Someone has to _show_ emotion to him for him to be _able_ to take their face, correct? So how could he take yours?"

The white eyespots on the back of the bird's head didn't reply for a while.

"Remember that I said, Spirits can convey emotion to each other. We can also withhold it. With ones who do not have moving faces, all that has to take place is the exchange of emotions."

Peto rose from his place and walked up the bird's neck, burying his head into his feathers comfortingly.

Three each of his six tails touched the two eyespots, and the small feathers melded together, becoming smooth. He whined in frustration.

"Thel should be able to help, Peto." The owl reassured him. "Do not worry. Sight itself is not as necessary to us, you know this."

The kitsune went back to Zei, putting his head on his paws and downturning his ears dejectedly.

"I envy the facestealer in many ways," Wan Shi Tong admitted, "because he still holds so many more secrets than I. I cannot say he has re-earned my respect, however. Pity, yes, because he is consumed by greed, and would not be mourned if he passed, despite his status as one of the oldest and wisest Spirits. He has even become self-destructive to the point of inciting the Avatar himself. And I think when he felt that it was not respect, but pity coming from me, he went back on his word of not hunting. He has another piece of me with him now, to remind him of just how far he has fallen. The first one I gave to him willingly. The tan face he showed you is from many centuries ago, when I first crossed over to the Material World."

* * *

"So Hei Bai was hurt by the burning of the forest here, he's connected to it, even though he lives in the Otherworld." Ty Lee said as Sokka finished his over-embellished tale.

"That about sums it up." He nodded and kissed her on the cheek.

"All the ash was icky," Katara grimaced, "But you should have seen Aang when he was comforting Hei Bai," she smiled, "It was _so _cute."

"But _Katara's_ the one who knew the right thing to say." Sokka waggled his eyebrows. "Even if you did hit him in the head with an _acorn._"

"Renewal is the way of the world." Katara replied sagely. "Life persists, even in adversity."

Her brother smiled. "My sis is so wise."

"Oh, and tonight I'm going to test my hypothesis." Katara lectured to her brother jokingly, "I think Iroh and Toph know about you two. And Zuko and Aang are all ignorance and bliss."

"_Okay _then." Sokka waved a hand dismissively.

At dinner, Katara clanged her spoon on her pot, told everyone she had something to say, and much to the chagrin and embarrassment of her brother, danced around the topic with eloquent phrases and finely crafted words, long-winded and falsely heartfelt testimonies about how her sibling had 'grown up so much from that cute little boy she used to coddle' and how he had 'reached another stage in his life.' Her motherly braggadcio dragged on for quite some time while the rest of them ate.

Toph was sniggering continuously, unable to down any of her food, as she read Sokka's uncomfortable fidgeting. Iroh was managing to contain himself, but allowed a quiet chuckle every now and then. Zuko just watched her as if she had grown a second head, and poor Aang looked as lost at her strange behavior as a polarbeardog in the Si Wong.

When she went up to him to pinch his cheeks, however, that was the last straw.

"Ty Lee and I are _together!_" He yelled, staving off her hands after he had set his food down. He draped his arm around the acrobat again to illustrate his point. "Okay? My sister is acting like a _lunatic_ because Ty Lee and I are together. Well, actually, she _**is **_a lunatic-" -She snorted back- "-but that's not the point-"

"Surprise, surprise. Ty Lee can land a boyfriend." Zuko drawled as he rolled his eyes.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" The acrobat pouted as Katara went to sit down again.

"Please." The older boy scoffed. "When the guys at school weren't making fun of _me_ for lagging behind my little sister, they were asking me if _your_ sisters were 'available' or 'interested.' Why should it be any different with you?"

"It's not as if we could date anyway." Ty Lee murmured introspectively. " . . . Hira, Lin, and Jia still can't . . . Meili and Weici would have rather _died_ . . ."

"Yeah, well, just because you all were too high class for anyone your parents hadn't handpicked or approved doesn't mean the _talking_ ever stopped."

Ty Lee looked away, frowning sadly.

"Could you _stick_ a _sock_ in it, Firebreath?" Sokka snapped as he rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Oh, _sorry._" The other teenager reacted to his animosity. "_**You**_ just didn't have to put up with, '_Damn, that Weici's hot._' **All.** The. Time. '_She should have come to the Boy's Academy, if you know what I mean.'" _His exasperated mocking impersonation was topped off with an overblown elbow-nudging. Ty Lee seemed to shrink as he talked, _"_**End-**less-ly._ 'If only that Yunru weren't so weird, I would jump her bo-_'"

Sokka chucked a stray piece of wood aimed at the prince's head to shut him up and he was forced to duck.

Zuko stood rebelliously, food forgotten.

"Simmer down," Toph joked to the prince. "He's just being protective."

Katara snickered at her brother. "Oh the irony."

"What?" Sokka asked.

"You wouldn't have minded talk like that _before_ you and Ty Lee got together, Mr. Ladies Man."

"Let's discuss something more interesting." Sokka rebuffed her comment. "Like the wonderful meal that I got for you guys-"

Ty Lee whispered something.

"Hmmm?" Sokka turned to her.

As Zuko sat down again, she lifted her head to pin him with an uncharacteristically steely glare. "_Don't you **ever**_ talk about _any_ of my sisters that way again. _**Got it?**_"

The scarred boy, stunned, stared at her.

"Ouch." Toph quipped. "Twinkle-Two, One, Lizard, Zero."

After an appropriately awkward pause, Sokka began, "Sooooo guys. . . The butcher actually gave this to me because he had an overstock and it would have gone bad otherwise. He's a friendly guy." He picked his serving back up.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, probably wanting the conversation to turn away from him.

"Hippo-Cow Tongue."

The reactions were swift and immediate. There were several 'ewwww's and 'hurf's with puffed cheeks, including the two who weren't partaking. Zuko actually spat out the bite in his mouth, coughing and muttering something about weird Earth Kingdom dishes.

"Don't go dissing my country's cuisine, Dragonboy. You guys are all weenies." Toph, the only one who had gone right on chewing, accused.

The Water Tribesman added indignantly, taking a bite of his own. "Afther ahll, it's _good_, in' it? A li-ille tough, maybah, but good. Noaw liver, that stuff's narsty."

"You'll eat something's tongue, but not its liver?" Toph teased him, "That's a strange meat bias. Not too big on 'brains' myself."

He swallowed. "Awww, come on, they're so gooey and deliciou-"

"I'm going to go take a walk." Aang declared, as he stood swiftly, looking more than a little green around the gills.

* * *

The airbender strode along, kicking at pebbles absently.

Even when he had gotten far out of earshot, he kept going for a while at a not-quite-hurried, but not-quite-easy pace.

Finally he came upon a huge tree, reaching for the sky with an unusual fervor by towering over its forest-mates.

He launched, ascending it in several light, well-placed bursts. He sat balanced on a thin branch, at the very top where they were close enough together for him to drape his arms over the next one up.

Abruptly there was a rustling below him. The acrobat made much more noise than he did as she swung on each branch and released, flipping upwards. "I wasn't exactly liking the conversation, either." She joked as she stopped a few yards shy and peered up at him. "Hey- wait- are you _crying_?"

He sniffed. "Yeah . . . but not about that." He dug the heel of his hand and his sleeve cuff into his eyes, shaking his head.

Ty Lee settled on her larger and more stable branch. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Aang ran his hands across his elbows, in thought. The first thing that came to him was that only _Ty Lee_ could follow him into a tree like this. He smiled half-heartedly. But then his mind was dredged back to the reason he had sought the comforting proximity to his native element in the first place. "There was this woman Toph and I met earlier today . . . she said I was a hero for rescuing the North Pole." He rested his chin on the slender branch, partially concealing his face between his arms. "And maybe it did help this town, freeing the river for trade. But . . ." he broke off a small, tender twig and let it fall away, watching it drop towards the ground, then looked at the place where it had been wistfully, "some awful things happened. 'Hero' just doesn't fit, regardless." He left it at that.

l

_The cascade of emotions receded much too suddenly, leaving him spinning._

_As the Ocean Spirit deposited him on the outer wall of the white city, Aang clutched at his head._

_His eyes fluttered open, and he was met with the wake of the freshly finished onslaught, the tattered wreckage of the Fire Nation destroyers. The few remaining flecks of black snow nearby in the dark night sky very nearly obscured the very different black flecks floating in the water at a distance. _

_But he knew they were out there._

_Bodies._

_Soldiers._

_People._

_So many lives._

_Gone._

_He fell to his hands and knees, willing himself not to shake, but it was no use. His lean frame was soon wracked by sobs, over and over again. He didn't know how long he was there like that, grieving the crews of the Fire Navy, pouring out the remnant of his already drained strength into tears._

"_Aang!" _

_His head jerked at the sound and he sucked in a noisy, clogged breath._

_Katara was coming. At the speed she was going, she was slipping and sliding on the icy surface. She actually skidded on her knees for the last short stretch._

"_Aang, your __**hands!**__"_

_That was the only warning he got before she had ripped off her gloves and snatched his hands up._

_He gazed dumbly at his own fingers, which had long since begun to take on a sickening blue tint supporting his weight against the chill of the ice._

_He hadn't even noticed. _

"_Didn't know . . . where you were . . . it disappeared . . ." Katara panted fearfully between breaths as she worked to heat them with warm exhales, " . . . didn't bring you . . . back to the . . . Spirit Oasis . . ." She tucked them under her chin, curled knuckles pressed to the top of her throat, and at the contact she shivered a little more than she already was.  
_

_He couldn't even enjoy the sensation, not only because his knuckles were completely and totally numb, but because he couldn't bear to have her touch him. _

_Not after what he'd done._

_He swiftly pulled away and tucked his hands under his arms to warm them himself, new tears coming at the stinging sensation in them and his face. He actually found refuge in concentrating on the pain, eyes unfocusing as he tried not to think of another reason she was probably shivering in the first place. The bodies inside the city she had undoubtedly passed on the way to him, the footmen that had not bowed to the Ocean Spirit. _

_Drowned._

_With a flick of a watery hand._

_They would be drifting along the canals, following the direction of the manmade currents towards the sea . . ._

_A tingling on his cheeks made him jump. It took him a second to figure out that tears were being thawed and the water was being bended away so it wouldn't continue to freeze against his face. _

_After that was done she tried to put a hand on him and draw him closer to her, but he pulled away again._

"_A-all those p-people . . ." he croaked weakly._

"_That wasn't you." Katara asserted quietly. "It was La."_

_He only curled in tighter on himself, beginning to rock back and forth._

"_I-I'm n-not s-so s-sure K-Katara."_

_He recalled the determination in his declaration as he faced the approaching fleet._

"**I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I'm going to make a **_**difference**_** this time."**

_The fiercer and deeper determination that had overcome him as he stood in the Spirit Oasis, soon to have La circling around him._

"**No. It's**_** not**_** over."**

"_I-I was t-thinking about the other n-nomads . . . " he swallowed. "a-and h-he was thinking a-about Tui . . . a-and our r-rage it . . . kind of . . ." He broke off and made a long, mournful sound deep in his throat. "it kind of merged together. I didn't know if I was myself, or if I . . . I don't think I was trying to hold him back . . . I b-barely knew what was happening, Katara. It was-" The sound he made next was of a terrified child, a tiny whistling that pushed its way out of his nose. _

_This time he didn't resist as she wrapped her arms around him. He couldn't; he was just too exhausted. He collapsed into her, and every fresh wave of tears was bended away again by the ungloved hand._

_When he finally stood and made his way slowly back to the center of the city, she followed along several strides behind him. A dim light along the overcast horizon hinted at a bleak morning._

_The silence and the distance between them wouldn't be breached again for a while yet, until the light was fully come upon the pole, and the awful aftermath within the walls flushed away._

l

* * *

"Father Ocean, they are here." Kuruk announced gravely to the two Koi of the pond. "I will guard the entrance so you are not interrupted."

The ebony fish swam to the side of the water, gazing at the three travelers for several minutes as water pumped in and out of his slitted throat.

"You must include the human in this discussion, La." Wan Shi Tong replied to the silence.

The fish turned slightly to Zei, and away again.

"I petetion again." The faceless owl repeated. "My Opposite has advised me thus. You know the importance of that kind of bond."

The fish glanced at the white koi, which was hanging back.

"Very well, Knowledgable One." La finally acquiesced in a ponderous, flowing tone. "Know, human, that not even my children here have ever heard me."

"It is a great honor indeed." Zei bowed at the waist.

"Kuruk memories tell me that you have laid eyes upon Koh with surprise and fear on your features. Another rare occurance. Tell me, Owl, do you intend for him to become a Spirit, then?"

Wan Shi Tong paused before saying, "I think he can earn it."

Zei's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "W-what?" He sputtered. "Y-you _want_ me to become a Spirit? . . . Wait, I _can_ become a Spirit? What-"

"Enough. That is not the issue at hand here." The Ocean's voice streamed smoothly. "Do you care to explain why you have overturned my judgement of the Moonslayer, Owl?"

"Do not pretend I am at fault here." Wan Shi Tong replied. "The human aside, the Material World has rarely seen such carnage by a single entity. I thought we left that kind of chaos behind long ago, when we invested the direction of the world to the Avatar."

The fish replied vehemently, "This was inevitable the moment the Avatar stepped into my presence, Owl. Do you know what kind of torment we endured, as my wife's children were ripped from their homes in the South, and we were powerless to aid them? As I watched the Avatar sink into my depths, and he floated for decades, as he was in sight, and yet out of reach?"

"And revenge against a single human makes up for such egregious misfortune?" Wan Shi Tong inquired. "Flooding my counterpart's field with souls reverses what has already been done?"

"I suppose I should be ordering Zburator and his Master to take you to the stocks, then, Owl?" The fish demanded, voice swelling. "For it is under your watch that this was allowed to happen, that her identity was discovered. So far from your source of power, it would be only too simple for him to overwhelm you."

Peto shrank against his Master.

"I did everything I could." The owl's voice became ragged and he rustled his wings nervously. "If I could travel from my dwelling, without becoming weaker, I would have chased him to the ends of the earth, I swear."

"Cursed confinement." The Koi agreed. "A mortal Spirit's nightmare."

There was a moment as the water in the small pond lapped, and the fish swam back and forth, the aquatic form of pacing.

"What a sad state of the world, when even the Spirits are at each other's throats." It slowed. "Forgive me, Knowledgable One. It all just seems like a sick joke, that the Avatar would be suspended for so long in a place that is me, my essence, and yet my choice of mortality prevented me from breaking him free." It spun to face its companion. "And this might have all been avoided, too, if Agni had chosen to stand by and guide his people, like us, instead of staying in the Otherworld."

"Perhaps." Tui replied timidly. "But what could have been will only eat at us, if we let it. The Sages turned away from him, and that is how history will stay. We must simply move forward." She brushed against him tenderly. "You still have not promised me that you will not interfere with the meeting of the Sun and Moon."

"The Sun Spirit has much to answer for." La replied evasively.

"So, too, do you." The faceless owl interrupted. "And you owe him your counterpart's life."

La swam away from Tui, rounding the pond again.

"As much as my presence has aggravated you," The owl began, "Thel has also asked me to thank you for fulfilling her request."

Tui responded gently. "It was I who implored the Avatar to protect my people, and I would not allow him to bear the full guilt for something that he would have never embarked on his own. La and I pushed him too far. Even when I was human, we had the same agenda."

"If what I understand is correct," Zei inquired quietly, "it is a wonder that the Avatar can even manage a smile at all any more, with his people wiped out, and this battle hanging over his head."

"Thel has taken a special interest in him," Tui confirmed, "as he has endured too much for any child to bear. She and La have relieved him of as much of the self-blame as they possibly could."

"By our influence, when he re-experienced the battle in sleep, he saw himself outside himself." The black koi said, "And thus was able to rightfully detach himself from the action. Still he grieves, but for his people, and for lives lost, not lives he has taken."

"If he were ever to truly believe he had commited such violence as his own decision, he would be unable to fulfill his duties." Tui finished sadly. "Unable to continue, even."

"The boy I met was not broken so." Zei gave a small smile. "He was boisterous but kind, and quite a delight to be around."

The fish came together again for a moment, matching each other's movements. They spoke together, voices flooding the space. "_So young and tender a Balance Keeper, it was our turn to Balance you_."

Tui came to the very edge of the pond, speaking to the owl. "I believe you can leave with no bad blood between us, Knowledgable One?"

"Until the meeting of the Sun and Moon, I'll bid you farewell." Wan Shi Tong replied.

* * *

Ty Lee said to Aang, "Well, I know that whatever happened, if it was scary for _me_, while I was so far away- and it was- it must have been really, _really_ scary for you." She paused. "And I would come and give you a hug, but I don't think that branch would support both of us."

At the jest the small boy gave a slightly strangled and pained chuckle.

* * *

The flight back to the Thel's soul field was a quiet one.

When the bird touched down, the girl was waiting for him.

This time she stood on the ground instead of flying, rooted like the plants around her, and exactly their height.

"Come here. Let me see."

He obligingly bent down towards her.

The little girl ran her small hands all along the scarred surface.

Scarred, in a way, yet featureless. Without the clean-looking white heart-shaped patch, the dark head looked, not necessarily menacing, but still undesirable.

"I think I can assist you, my dear friend, but only if you are ready to let go of your anger. You have faced the Moonslayer. Can you renew the curiosity and positive passion you once boasted for your beloved Knowledge? Are you ready to take on the world again? To welcome people back to your home?" She gently guided his head into a front-bowing angle and laid her palm on the back of it. In this position, it was above the two white marks, but if he were upright again, the placement would be below them. "Let's find out."

She began to murmur softly and melodiously,

_"What, for you, may I affix,_

_Creature of the Air, with Wings of blackest Onyx,_

_Buried deep in the Earth, who in the mirroring dark hoped to turn to Stone yourself,_

_Where the land is parched of Water, and the Fire of sunlight does not delve?_

_My everlasting duty is to you, even when you stray_

_I, who see Life, in its own places and ways, _

_Sprout up, healthy, from newly scorched ground ash-dry,_

_And rise up, gladly, to soar even in a cloud-wet sky."_

At the last two earnest lines of the incantation, swirling patterns began to "_Sprout up_" on him, radiating from the two marks, carving white through black. The albino vines branched and spread down the length of his back and tail. At the same time they crept over his shoulders onto his chest, and, still moving, "_scorched_" into tiny, almost floral bursts at places. They went across the solid parts of his wings, to the sides past his thumbs, the alulae feathers, painting delicate stripes across the vanes of his flight shafts to "_soar_" to the very tips.

At "_wet_" the eyespots themselves grew moist and blinked with new sight. And when she took her hand away, there was a white beak where it had been, matching the now-permanent patterns decorating his entire body.

The owl stood straight and rotated this face forward by the one hundred-eighty degrees, puffing out his feathers and shaking his head from side to side, opening and closing his freshly formed mouth.

She walked around him, admiring her handiwork. "So depart. And always remember that Innocence, while it can be lost, can also be found again, in many ways."

He dipped low, spreading his wings flat across the ground in a regal sweep. "Every gratitude, My Balancer, Innocence Keeper."

* * *

Back in the Material World, two people still perched in a tree. The lower down of the two bent a knee to chest level, lifting one foot and then the other, to stand up.

"You're not a mover." Ty Lee observed.

"A what?" Aang asked down at her.

"It's something Meili always used to say. Some people will find a place to stay still and quiet when they're upset. But a mover will want to move, to actively work off the negative energy. I do it both ways, about the same amount. I didn't used to, though."

l

_Meili was a completely different person._

_Firstly, when Yunru wasn't around._

_Secondly, when she wasn't under pressure.  
_

_Thirdly, when she was dancing._

_The beautiful wooden flooring of the room was cleaned so well that it was partially reflective. Ty Lee and three others watched their eldest sister demonstrate a maneuver gracefully and effortlessly. She bent her knees and swept one foot out, completing a half-spin and then cleared the floor entirely.  
_

"_Come on, Weici, you know this one." She encouraged, smiling._

_Her next youngest sister tiptoed shyly over to her, repeating the movement._

_Next was Ty Lee._

_Then Hira._

_Their mother sat at one end of the room, with two toddlers on each knee. "You two will be doing this before you know it." The three watched the lessons contentedly._

"_I think you'll be able to start flips, soon, Ty!" Meili crowed._

"_R-really?" The young girl's silver eyes shone with anticipation of the aerial feats. _

_Weici tussled her little sister's hair affectionately._

_The female noble continued to talk to the two little ones as the line of four performers worked. "You'll be civilized and cultured. They don't allow just any common children to dance. The schools don't allow it. It's your privledge as members of our esteemed family."_

"_It's a shame, really." Meili said idly as they took a short break. "Do you think they might let them, one day, Mother?"_

"_I certainly hope not. And the way they have all the boys and girls going to the same building together? It's positively scandalous." She shook her head. "I'm glad I convinced your father to send you all to the Capitol. But when my mother was your age, no girls went to the Boy's Academy because of some silly cowhogwash about how classes were better there. Why have separate schools in the first place if you're not going to enforce it one hundred percent? We don't need to stoop to the level of peasants. Ah well, it's better than nothing."_

"_Where is Miss Ryu this week?" Hira asked. "I like learning from you, too, Mei, I just wondered."_

_"Her father is taking sabbatical from Roku's Temple. He's-"_

_"A sabba-what?" Hira puzzled._

_Meili chuckled. "He's taking a little vacation. He's visiting her, so lessons are canceled for a little while. And call her Auntie. She likes it when her students do that."_

_"Okay." Ty Lee and Hira said together._

"_Hey, why doesn't Yunru ever come to the lessons, Mei?" Ty Lee asked her surrogate instructor._

"_She just doesn't want to." Meili replied, shrugging._ "_Now let's start again."  
_

_The other three followed suit, eager to continue._

_Through the years stress would roll off all of them, relinquishing its weight when they sprang, leaped, twirled, all after one another. Meili would come alone whenever she was feeling bad. She was a 'mover.' Yunru wasn't. This Ty Lee, who hadn't yet seen anything wrong with being a copy of the two dancers she admired so much, couldn't help thinking that maybe spending a little time in this room would help her grumpy older sister. It never happened. And later, she would take up yoga, and find the benefits of stilling the body and turning a critical eye inward. But for now, she enjoyed losing herself in the motion of the steps.  
_

l

"Maybe you should try moving, instead. Change it up." She dropped to a lower branch, touching off again and swinging on another. "Come on! Jeranimo!" She flung herself from the tall tree, freefalling down for a breathless minute before catching a limb of a shorter one and swinging again.

The airbender immediately felt so much lighter, watching her raw, simple enjoyment. Ty Lee just seemed to have that effect. How could you continue feeling dragged down watching that? "Ha! Watch _this._" He wrapped his hands around the tip of the tree, swaying the pliable trunk back and forth until he had gained enough momentum to thrust out his feet and hang freely, changing his hands fast on the small branches so that he could spin around and make it bend more. Once it had reached a point where he had the trunk going in the biggest circle possible, he stopped himself and allowed it to snap back straight. It slingshotted him across the sky.

"Whooooooaaaaa!" Ty Lee exclaimed.

He tucked his arms and legs to minimize drag. This active commune with his element was indeed both a balm and a boon. He hadn't really simply airbended for the heck of it much since he had started training. Would any of the elements he was learning afterward ever be as inspiring, as natural and comfortable, as his nascent one? He hoped so. But for now, he enjoyed it slipping by him, seeming to strip and scrub him of his worries.

He started to descend, so he spread his arms then, gathering air under him. He alighted on another branch and waited for her behind, trying to catch up to him through the canopy.

"Want to see something even cooler?" He called back.

"What?"

He floated to the ground, bending air around him to sprint off at his full breakneck pace, leaving her goggling.

After he had covered a good bit of distance, he used the same slingshot method to propel himself back to where she was.

"That." A smile slowly spread across her face. "That was _so awesome._"

He lifted upward again, returning the expression. "You can't catch me." He boasted playfully. "But I'll go easy on you." He flew off once more, darting through the trees, and she chased after.

And thus it went, the pattern of spontaneous, uncomplicated revelry.

And maybe, the trills of their combined laughter sounded just a little bit like-

-the gossamer wings of a hummingbird-beetle.

* * *

...

...

...

...

...

_**Afternote:**_

_**Point A: I have a challenge for you. In your review, tell me which characters (in *different* threads of the narrative) you thought were paralleling each other, at any given point. Try to name them all! (They aren't necessarily directly 'next' to each other.) How many places did you see the theme of innocence come into play? I wonder, did you notice the subtle hints of Toko hidden in the Knowledge Spirit's final scene? Did you see me slip in Toko and Kataang imagery at the last minute to counteract all the Earth and Air symbolism? Literary analysis can be fun, you know!  
**_

_**Point B: Something I have to grudgingly admit about Shaymalan's interpretation of Aang's personality and the events of Season 1 . . . it was astute in a few ways. (1) You don't just get over the genocide of your entire people (2) The peaceful solution "Ong" comes up with at the finale of **_**The Last Airbender**_**, though very anti-climatic, is absolutely in character. The fact that he has to also fight against the need for revenge, which the dragon outlines, is also very realistic.**_

_**After reading two or three fics that point out that the Ocean Spirit's attack, in real life, would have resulted in massive casualties, it began to weigh on my mind a lot. Logically, someone like Aang would be absolutely crushed- and I believe irrevocably so- by that reality.**_

_**All this being said, I absolutely **_**adore**_** Aang. And his Bryke-bestowed personality. So I've kept it, while also pointing out these discrepancies. And his aftermath scene was very, very heart-wrenching to put down. **_

_**Point C: I would be very gratified if someone figured out the origin of the names for the foxes the professor mentioned. And "The Book of Thel" is a poem written by William Blake, if you care, which you probably don't. I used the name to present my own ideas for certain reasons, one of which being I couldn't find any Eastern deities correlating specifically and exclusively to innocence.  
**_

_**Point D:**__** To quote a famous movie: "That isn't flying! That's falling- with **_**style.**_**" Writing that last scene totally made me want to be an airbender. Even though I usually see myself as a waterbender. :P**_


	20. Meditation and Agitation

**The training and the conversation at the end may seem long overdue, (and it's a revision for the oldest readers of you besides) but I feel Zuko needed to progress (and maybe, in a way "regress" some) before either took place. Plus, the subject and the opportunity just somehow never presented itself before last chapter. **

**I'd also like to point out that this take on firebending IS different from the canon for the Chronicles I wrote. So don't be confused. X3**

**Lastly, I've always wondered this about Appa, especially after M. Night's portrayal of him. **

**What Meets the Eye**

"I've realized lately, that being on your own isn't always the best path." –Zuko, _Book 2, Chapter 12: The Serpent's Pass_

"I know you." -Ty Lee, _Book 3, Chapter 5, The Beach_

**Chapter 20: Meditation and Agitation**

Very early the next morning, Zuko was taking a moment of peace.

The solitary figure was sitting, cross-legged, with his hands on his knees, having stuck three plain green twigs in the ground in front of him. It had become a fairly regular habit, even though the most fruitful bending meditation time for firebenders would always be high noon.

To his utter surprise, he was finding that he enjoyed the company of all the new people, despite the conflict at dinner last night. Though he was quiet a lot of the time, he even liked listening to their banter. Then again, he couldn't simply shrug off his insular ways, could he? He had spent so little time playing or training with boys his own age back in the Fire Nation. He hadn't interacted a lot in the _first_ place, but something had twisted the knife as well . . .

l

"_Please . . . When the guys at school weren't making fun of me for lagging behind my little sister . . ."_

l

It had been very subtle, at least in the beginning. They only avoided him, kept him at a distance. A small sneer here and there. He hadn't made much of an effort to bridge the gap. No one would dare openly mock the highest ranking student in the Boy's Academy. Over time, though, they did grow a little bolder, mentioning things to his face instead of whispering to each other. It became a kind of contest- who was brave enough to stand up to him before he threatened and drove them off? Then they snickered as they ran away and scattered. Before his mother left, he was close to telling her about it. But instead of informing anyone, he had really come to think that he deserved it. Until he could measure up to the favored child, almost two years his junior, and a girl to boot, until he could be worthy of their respect, everything they said was perfectly justified, wasn't it? The little boy withdrew into himself even further.

Bringing up the phrases he remembered last night had brought recollections into his dreams. When he was banished, so many of the names of his classmates that went along with the voices had been so easily effaced by the ocean waves just as if they had been written on a beach, where his own skin had been erased by fire. He combed his primarily blank memory. He really had not bothered to hold on to them, just like he hadn't put much energy into learning them. Or, maybe, he had intentionally blocked them out, and put them behind him?

They're his _people_. He's supposed to _care_ about them.

It was unsettling.

If he _somehow_ went back right now . . . Did he still hold grudges . . .?

The answer was pretty plain, but he couldn't allow that kind of anger to influence him, especially if he was going to fight his own Nation. And yet, the loyalty that he was betraying . . . had it felt as if it were primarily to his father? Even after Lu Ten and Iroh used to talk about the good of everyone?

He hated _both_ ideas, but there they were.

He lit the twigs and tried to disperse his talkative thoughts to reach the state of wordless _existence._

Inhale. Exhale.

It was very different from the meditation he had practiced on his ship, and back home, not only because of the change in context, but physically. It was more taxing than his previous method. These makeshift 'candles' did not burn constantly and regularly: they didn't have any of the slow-consuming wick fuel of their waxy counterparts, and on their own they smoked feebly instead of flamed. But if he maintained focus correctly, they lit up at his bidding. To achieve this, he had to keep them from burning themselves out too quickly, and for this reason he used green twigs instead easily-combustible dead ones. While he repressed the fire from traveling downward, he supplemented some of his own bending. The former was a beginner's exercise, something Aang would be doing endlessly for the next weeks. The latter was past intermediate. Doing both together was practically unheard of, though that was less because of difficulty and more because his uncle favored unconventionality, especially now that he was free from the scrutiny of the crew and Zuko's own past straitlaced national loyalty to established teachings.

He had increased his ability to six candles, before, and even with half that number to concentrate on, he seemed to be stretching himself just enough. When all was said and done, he had them expanding on intakes and shrinking on expels of air, like they were supposed to, though very spotty and flickering.

The deposed royal found himself wondering briefly if he could have managed this feat_ back then_. He certainly never would have thought of attempting it. Was it still an odd feeling, relying on what he had at hand instead of something that had always been provided, that he had always assumed he would have? No, surely relying on himself, and himself alone, had just taken on another form.

This scudded across his awareness and faded out, until there was nothing but the candles and his surroundings again.

The cool spring day was only just beginning to take on the warmth offered by the solar source peeking over the earth. The rise in temperature sluggishly brushed against his bending consciousness as the minutes went by. The air itself, though, was still, and not a leaf or blade of grass moved. The only wind that stirred was going in and out of his chest.

He spoke with his eyes closed. "I know you're there."

The person behind him didn't acknowledge his observation.

The insistent _scratch scratch_ of the vole-woodpecker digging far off to his right was making more noise than her footsteps had in approaching.

He debated momentarily whether to press the issue of her interruption, but decided to get back to the candles. He hadn't used a friendly or welcoming tone; now that she had been called out, maybe she would take a hint and just leave if he ignored her.

This particular person tended to hold a routine disregard for Aang's similar sessions, sometimes bordering on purposeful sabotage. This _aside _from regularly verbally putting down _any _member of the Gaang whenever given the chance.

She had arrived at least a few minutes ago, he estimated. Did that rule out intentionally creeping up to surprise him or bother him, he asked himself. What was the she _doing_ here?

Inhale. Exhale.

Also different from _back then_, as he sat there continuing the exercise, he found that what could have been considered a distraction hadn't fazed his connection to the line much at all.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Ex-

"Do you ever get _tired _of it, Zuko?" the earthbender asked abruptly.

No 'good morning,' no 'how are you.'

"Tired of what?" Tired of being made a fool by an obnoxious girl?

"Tired of the way people react when they see you."

The twigs were consumed with his too-fast breath in as his eyes snapped open.

Where had _that _come from? Was she talking about the _**looks **_people gave him when they caught glimpses of the sunken, discolored side of his face? How could she, being blind, _possibly _know about-

"It's _annoying_, isn't it? They twitch in surprise," she plowed on candidly and tactlessly. "Their heart sometimes skips a little in fright, you know. Is it-"

As she talked, his shoulders seized up, and his breath fell completely out of his direction, accelerating, fanning and flaring the smoldering sparks that were left. He glared straight ahead. Every single thing that he had gone through in school in the past suddenly seemed insignificant next to her current irreverent prodding. Loud, scorching phrases built within him, comprised of jargon gleaned from time with sailors. He prepared to- and this was putting it _**politely**_- vehemently make plainer to the little pest to _**leave him be**_-

"-worse when they stare, or when they look away?" she finished flatly. "They only stare at me- because they think I can't tell."

The burning words died on his lips.

It was only then-

-that he remembered she had addressed him initially by his actual _name._

That he realized it wasn't derision he was hearing in her words.

That he recognized the hint of resentment buried in the otherwise evenly delivered inquiry for what it _was_.

He rotated his torso slowly around to look at her. She was leaning back against a treetrunk, a few yards away, arms crossed. The girl was faced sideways from him, not that it mattered, he noted, because every vantage appeared the same to her, didn't it? Many others in the same posture may have bent one knee and put a heel against the bark, but for her that might be as awkward as closing one eye.

The unusual cloudy film overlaying her irises themselves suddenly held a new meaning. As the day dawned around, this dawned on him:

Yesterday. When they arrived in Onto. Had she sounded caught off guard when everyone _cringed away_ from her?

l

"_What?" she had demanded reflexively. "_Strange? Weird?_ I'm a freak, right?"_

l

Had there been more to that response than the conversation surrounding it suggested? Had it been a little hasty and over-exaggerated?

Less freshly etched memories arose. When he turned too suddenly or when any of them saw him first thing in the morning . . .

No.

Those had tapered off, he reflected. Perhaps he should spend less of the time in the morning alone . . .

And she wasn't asking about the members of their shared group right now, anyway. Not counting her enmity with the waterbender, she was on good terms with all of them, wasn't she?

She was referring to the other people, those they passed by when they entered towns, strangers, outside observers.

He swallowed thickly. Although alienation had never _exactly_ been something he was _unacquainted _with, it had taken on a more tangible dimension in the past three years. Sneers were replaced by involuntary flinches and embarrassed, pitying looks.

_a freak_

He tried and failed not to think of the times that thought had slipped in, unpunctuated, stealthy, and unbidden, as he looked at the lopsided image in a mirror.

Under the waxing light, a barely-perceptible frown defined her profile. Her words had matched her current expression: flat, yet somehow _defiant._ Though more understated than the shell he sequestered himself in, didn't he know it all too well to overlook what mostly likely lay beneath it?

"Cat-owl got your tongue?" she needled, jarring him out of his extended reverie. Then, almost ruefully, "Never seem to get anything out of you, do we?"

No one_,_ not even his _uncle_, had ever asked him anything like this. And he _definitely _wouldn't have answered honestly if they had. A short while ago they would have been on the receiving end of the furious, less-than-savory language that had stampeded through his head moments before. Unbefitting of a prince as it was, followed an all too familiar stab of disgust at himself.

He had already done her a service by not telling her off. He had borne this alone, and he didn't feel like sharing. He turned his back again, setting his sights on the still-live embers, which were pushing on and resisting the shortened fuel supply, seeking and catching fresh subsistence in the surrounding grass. He visualized a ring to corral around the newly lighted green blades, and kept them from spreading, slowing the natural process, while at the same time, supplementing his bending as he had before. He absorbed himself in the new pursuit as the haphazard patterns inched along, and held his peace.

There was a small noise behind him that he guessed was her hoisting herself upright into a standing position, and he steeled himself, expecting her to pester him further.

"You know what, just-" with the pause, did the forthright earthbender sound _unsure_? "-just forget it."

Her subsequent resolution and her motion to leave, however, were unmistakable and decisive.

. . . or were they were hurried and . . . _flustered?_

Step. Step. Step.

He stole a glance.

Before she had gotten too far-

"The- It- now- It _used_ to be- the _worst_- was when they looked _sorry . . ." _

She stopped and practically jumped on his words. "It made you want to prove them _wrong-"_ the blind girl asserted adamantly and defensively, "that they didn't _need _to feel sorry for you."

At once he could tell she was talking about herself as much as him. But all the same he agreed, "Yes."

"What . . . changed?"

He relinquished his additional bending and watched the scatter of little licks of flames in the circle as they one by one morphed into embers, alternating indeterminately between brightness and blackness with residual heat. Even if he did hear the guard that had dropped from the second word, giving way to undisguised curiosity, even if he wanted to tell her accurately . . . he wasn't sure he could explain it.

Pity had always incited anger in him. But not after- " _. . . _when . . . Ever since the girl, Song, talked to me- even when she didn't know who I was . . . and then Aang . . . I began to think that . . . maybe . . . I shouldn't hold it _against_ people for . . . trying to . . . understand . . . "

She came closer than she had been, though still several paces away. "Anyone?"

"Hm?"

"You don't get mad at _anyone_, anymore, for . . . looking down on you?"

He let out a long, measured breath, and the embers fizzled and snuffed out. "I . . . don't really see it that way anymore."

He closed his eyes again. "-but- it . . . _is _still bad when they _stare_," he affirmed quietly. "The ones . . . who avert their gaze have more . . . more decency."

Several minutes passed. Even given the answer she was looking for, she didn't seem to know what to _do_ with it.

Then, "I won't tell anyone if you won't."

"What do you mean?"

"You want to tell anyone else? Eh. Be my guest. But don't mention me. The Twinkles? They'd go all _mushy._ And Prissy, _especially_." she emphasized. "Chatter City. They don't notice it, or if they do they don't say anything about it. I don't feel like listening to it. We clear?"

"You have my word."

There, that sounded more like someone raised as a prince. The corner of his mouth turned up.

Then she added, more subdued again, "By the way- is it- on the left- _your_ left?"

"Yeah . . ." he said hesitantly. She really _had _never seen . . . she had deduced that _just_ from all those minute reactions, inside the group and out . . .

In that train of thought something else occurred to him. He cupped his hand and scrutinized the flame that appeared. "Hey . . . you've . . . never seen fire."

"I've never 'seen' _anything_." She said it as if pointing out something obvious to a small child. "It's flattering and all that you guys _forget_, but _come on._" It wasn't an irritated tone, but amused.

"Well, I mean- most everything you could at least touch. But fire . . ." he searched for the right phrase as he watched the light wavering back and forth- "doesn't have . . . mass. All you know about a flame is . . . heat, I guess? You can't tell where its edges are."

"And where would you get an idea like that? That one you're holding right there is about this high-"

This time he turned his entire body around to sit facing her, and watched her hold palms flat toward each other, "-and this wide." She indicated with a forefinger and thumb.

"How . . . ?"

"It's an extension of your chi. As long as you're touching the ground, where it goes is plain as day." She snorted at the expression. "Not that 'day' is that plain to _me,_ anyway. Is the sun even up?"

At the prompt the firebender glanced directly at the source of his power, which had risen more than he anticipated, and had to squint away, wishing he had checked the impulse. Even only two-thirds revealed, it was too bright. "Sort of. It hasn't cleared the horizon yet, though."

The sun was still in contact with the earth.

"I could swear you all get up earlier than the chefs did. So much for my being able to sleep on Snoozle time."

At this Zuko frowned. "Did we wake you up?"

"Every day. Aang is an early riser too, but I never noticed when it was just him. Now I just doze."

Zuko's frown deepened a little. Iroh, after he had fully recovered from his injury had gotten up fairly early, if not as early as himself and Aang. And as time had gone on, he had woken closer and closer to them- unusual for the man who always enjoyed his sleep. Zuko suspected the punctuality had something to do with his step-up in training. In contrast, Toph had stayed in her naturally-constructed tent later and later, until she was emerging after everyone was awake except Sokka. She frequently slept on Appa while in the air, too. She had trumpeted her freedom from her rigid schedule back home on more than one occasion. They had really woken her up _every_ day? And yet it didn't sound like she was miffed about being roused. She had never said anything about it before.

"We could . . . try to make less noise . . ." he offered anyway.

"Oh, it's not the _noise._"

Oh. Duh. She hadn't noticed Aang, because he was light. But with three people weighing on the ground, four sometimes with Ty Lee, there was much more interference.

"Dragon isn't especially _ea-sy _to _miss._ _Ha_ha, ha."

"I'd imagine he isn't." Even though his uncle _had_ lost a substantial amount of fat, that didn't make his stout and wide-framed figure much less imposing. His moving across the ground, even as silently as possible, must have been like shining a light in her face, he concluded. The mental picture _was_ pretty funny.

"Wait- so- what about- can you see fire that my uncle and I _aren't _controlling, too?" he asked, now intently interested in her perception.

"No. So I guess in _that _case, heat's it."

"They both look the same to-" he paused, ". . . all of us."

"_Really?_" She shook her head in disbelief. "_Exactly_ the same_?_" She pointed. "I mean, that's made of _you_. You're not as dull as a _log_." The little smirk reappeared. "Though, sometimes you do _talk _about as much as one."

Her goading jab about his reticence was lost on him as the full implications of what she was saying crashed down.

l

"_I can see earth when it's airborne."_

_"You once said that you could feel ants walking."_

"_Everyone's chi is connected to the earth when they contact it. And you're able to read it through your bending."_

l

She could_** see**_ what his uncle had talked to him and Aang about.

_l_

"_Fire comes __**from**__ you."_

"_While it is true that fire has some force of its own, when it is under your control, it is very much a part of yourself."_

_l_

He brushed his fingers across the flame, wondering what it could possibly 'look' like to her.

"What about water?" he asked, "Or air?"

"Well, fire is the most concentrated, but water a la Twinkle-Queen mojo is there, too, a little. Air is one big nada no matter what. Something to do with the opposite thing, probably. But if I _understand_ right, none of _you_ can see it either," she pointed out humorously.

"Yes. Except Ty Lee's the same way when Aang bends."

"Oh yeah. Forgot that was in her little bag of tricks," she said in almost a grumble.

There was another long pause as he gazed at the little girl thoughtfully.

She stifled a yawn. "Welp, I'm going to go get some breakfast. I guess I'll leave you to- your-" She waved her hand vaguely towards the burned patch of ground. She strolled away, but tossed lightly back, "And didn't we just agree we _don't_ like people _staring_?"

He quickly looked away and uttered a serious and humble apology.

"_JOKE_-ing! I was _joking_, Zuko."

* * *

"So, only your second day at work, and you're already laid off?" Sokka was teasing his sister.

Katara smiled while downing a piece of bread. "She's taking the day off herself, Sokka! She's just a little old lady, you know!"

"Aaaand you're going to spend the time washing laundry?"

"And rinsing."

He chuckled.

"Sure you guys don't want anything washed?"

Ty Lee interjected, "Didn't you just get it done a few days ago?"

Katara shrugged. "Never hurts. It's so dusty all the time." She hefted her collection of clothes and trotted off.

Sokka watched her go with a grin. "You know, Ty Lee, she used to make such a big deal about splitting up the washing when it was just the three of us. Now that she's more advanced, she just bends 'em clean. It got to where I- we- took too long for her. She's so controlling, sometimes." He shook his head. "Then she practices gripping with water."

"Seems like it'd take a lot of practice."

"And you're right- she really has no business scrubbing things so often- but," he opened a hand, "see, our dad took me out on trips to 'land' when I was little before he left. That's where I learned tracking and other stuff. Even Jet was pretty impressed with-" he glanced back to where his sister had gone.

Ty Lee remembered the Freedom Fighter's name from when they passed Gaipan, but she didn't know what was making Sokka's aura go so dark.

"Anyway. I got used to the dirt. You should have seen her eyes when we got back. So wide. She attacked the foreign stuff in a frenzy. When we first left home she was unbearably fastidious about it. She's gotten a little better, but for someone who didn't grow up with a _scrap_ of dirt around- well, she just doesn't like the stuff. At all."

Ty Lee nodded.

"Well, I'm off. Listen," he leaned in closer, "why don't you watch Zuko and Iroh train, it might help you with, you know."

She chewed on her lip. "Maybe it will. Have a good day at work," she kissed his cheek. "Heh, it's pretty weird, saying that."

"Why?"

She started to consider a way to explain the cultural reference, but waved it off. "It's nothing." The tribesman shrugged and grabbed something to eat on his walk to the butcher's.

Ty Lee glanced around the campsite. Toph's tent was still up, and the three firebenders were probably meditating. She would do the same, until they came back.

* * *

After they had all eaten, and Toph had laughingly pointed out to a befuddled Ty Lee that the _back_ of her tent was down, she and Aang split off for some more extensive earthbending.

Ty Lee addressed her question to Iroh, not sure if Zuko would appreciate the intrusion. "Can I possibly . . . tag along with you guys today?"

"Oh, well," Iroh's face fell. "Actually, I was going to suggest teaching some advanced, or, to use Toph's term, 'heavy duty' firebending, since Aang is otherwise occupied."

Zuko's fingers literally flickered in anticipation. "Do you mean lightning?"

Ty Lee stiffened.

"Er, yes." He smiled apologetically to the acrobat. "Very dangerous. Not something you want to be nearby for. And I'm afraid I've already left this too long- the sooner he knows how to handle lightning, the better."

"You're going to take Appa?" Ty Lee's already lofty pitched voice had risen a notch higher. "He can get you to where none of the villages would see the flashes. I could take him away and bring him back for you."

"Thank you. Hm, that worked out rather well, didn't it then? And you can certainly join us for a tea break."

She tittered nervously. "Yeah."

"And Ty Lee," Zuko said, again trying on the princely tone he hadn't needed for a while. "I apologize for what I said last night. I shouldn't have gotten carried away like that. I shouldn't have insulted your family."

A wide smile, even for her, spread across her face. "I appreciate that. A lot," the former noble replied. "And it wasn't you that said it first, technically, anyway."

After they had established a time for the break and she had dropped them off, she returned to camp and did some of her own working out. Momo was napping, but Appa watched with interest as she repeated back hand springs, did sprints, and pushups. Every so often her concentration was interrupted by huge amounts of energy from the earthbending. When the sun was just past overhead, she took a break herself, resolving to watch the sparring from a distance. Appa didn't seem too keen to get anywhere near the mini battle zone, so she jogged there herself and climbed a small hill to get a vantage point. The two small figures were hurling waves of earth at each other, though only one could muster up blocks that were equal in size. Aang was forced to use smaller stopgaps to form islands under his own control and give himself time to leap over the obstacles. She could tell Toph didn't like that, but it was working very well, and she was fairly sure, even though she couldn't sense chi from here, that he wasn't using any airbending that she could complain about. She recalled Iroh and Toph discussing this way to approach earthbending: because the waves of chi were more like water and air, Aang might have an easier time transitioning to large amounts of earth. He rarely ever worked with stationary "blobs" of water anymore that would vaguely resemble a standalone rock, and air and fire were even less like this.

Then the little yellow figure failed to dodge, and he was hit hard. Impulsively Ty Lee grabbed the branch beneath her, and rolled her body forward, hanging from the branch and dropping quickly. She ran towards them, and by the time she got there Toph was already next to him and asking if he was all right.

"Mmmm' okay. Nothing broken." He didn't sit up, though, and his eyes were screwed up.

"Well of course there isn't! I wasn't throwing them _that_ fast," she said crossly. "After Queeny chewed me out for dislocating your shoulder, you'd think I'd-"

"Toph, I'm not complaining." He interrupted, taking a deep breath that expanded his chest and relaxing his eyes. "You've been a lot easier on me than our first lesson. And I didn't say it then, but I agreed- and do agree- with you when you said that I'd have to learn to fight while hurt."

"So you're not running to go get healed right now?"

"No."

The earthbender's aura calmed. "Atta boy, Aang," she said with a good dose of genuine admiration.

He flexed his back and lifted it from the ground, straightening and bending his arms. "Hey! Ty Lee, what're you doing here?"

"She was playing audience." Toph told him and jabbed a thumb over her shoulder to where she had been. Ty Lee was again impressed with her range.

Now she was carefully watching the chi congregate on his front. "That's going to bruise pretty badly."

Toph growled in aggravation and her aura flared again. "Katara isn't going to be happy."

"Don't want to know how many guys she bruised in her lessons at the North Pole," he replied fairly calmly for his condition. "She's just going to have to put up with it."

"Wait a second, you mean people actually get _hurt_ practicing waterbending?" Toph said sarcastically.

"Well, mostly from the contact with whatever surface it flings you against."

Smugness emanated from her. "Oh, so even splashing around requires a good hard surface to make it effective."

"Unless you're using ice," he said seriously.

"Yeah, well, are you ready to go at it again or not?"

"I think so." He slowly stood.

But before they had a chance to take up position again, Appa came careening out of the sky, roaring. He landed harder than usual and Toph leapt backwards at the sudden introduction to her sight. The bison shuffled up to Aang, smelling him but not touching. He moaned at the two girls, as if demanding an explanation. How could he be hurt if he was with friends?

"Calm down, buddy." Aang whispered. "I know it's been hard." He walked, running a hand along his head until he reached a leg and hugged it. "You've still got to promise me." Appa turned his head to each side, as if miming 'No.'

"Promise you what?" Ty Lee asked.

"I've told Appa not to fight." Aang replied. "Not to get _involved_ when _we're_ in fights. He may look sturdy, but his fur makes him look bigger and tougher than he _is._ He has an especially soft underbelly and no natural armor, except at the crown of his head."

If he was anything like the antlered fox-antelopes, Ty Lee thought, that was probably for butting heads with other males during rut.

Aang continued, "If it looks like there's no other way, I had a command, and later I got the whistle, too. He can. Sokka and I had a big fight about it the first time we were attacked by Fire Nation and Appa didn't come. But Katara pointed out that we're so tiny compared to him, that either tackles or air blasts could knock _us_ down too, even if he were going for another person. I might have lost that argument if she hadn't stepped in. She convinced him that Appa was not only important to _me_, but for quickly traveling, too." He sighed. "I couldn't stand losing him, on top of everyone else. Most of all, the people who are after me have said several times that they don't intend to kill me, and he's got to understand that. They won't hesitate to try to take him out, though. He's dangerous to them."

Appa must have been disobeying him when he helped Sokka and Katara against her and Mai. If his master wasn't _there_ to _see_ him "misbehave" . . . Ty Lee smiled.

"Wait, so even with Katara knowing healing now, you think that's a good idea?" Toph asked. She had told them enthusiastically about how Appa had saved her from the sandbenders.

"Katara isn't trained in healing animals. There are lots of differences," he replied with an edge to his voice.

* * *

He made Appa take Ty Lee back to camp. Or Ty Lee take him. It was hard to tell. Her thoughts spun with his explanation.

Even after she had stroked and reassured the bison, he elected to retreat and stay grumpy. Momo was woken up by the commotion and blinked sleepily at her.

She meditated again, this time over whether she should explain to the airbender just how much of Appa she could see. If she could make chi more visible to Katara, as she had before to Toph, maybe healing him would be a lot simpler than Aang considered. She got up and brushed a part in his fur, putting both hands as near his skin as possible. For a moment she was amused by a mental comparison of how Aang had sometimes dug his toes in past grass to sense earth.

Then she immersed herself in the titanic body. The areas with the most activity stood out. His six stomachs churned. His lungs, nearly as long as she was tall, filled with agitated breaths. His huge heart only beat about once for every two beats of hers, and each was a loud _thump_ in her ears. She took notice of the comparatively dead space on his forehead where extra bone sat, and followed the nerve pathways that started under it and ran down his back.

There was more than one reason she'd asked to sleep on his quiet_ tail._

She lifted her hands and thought out loud. "I know you want to help Aang. But maybe it's best that you don't." She wasn't sure she could even manipulate chi like that consistently, though now that it had come up she should probably work on it. And as much as she'd like an extra ten tons between them and the Fire Nation, it wasn't fair to Aang to put his last piece of family in peril, nor fair to Appa to get mixed up in the messes humans made unless the situation absolutely demanded it.

She eventually had to ask Appa to take her to the firebenders. She tried enticing him with some of the tea leaves- he loved to eat them almost as much as Iroh loved brewing them- and he very grudgingly let her coax him away from his bonded human.

She could tell immediately that Zuko also was in a rare mood, his aura thick and overcast. His clothes were singed and, strangely, the chi on his back looked bruised as well, though not quite as bad as Aang's mishap.

"We're going to return to have the tea." Iroh told her. "No more for today."

"Okay. If you want."

"But Uncle-"

"_No,_ Zuko."

Zuko glared, but didn't say anything else. To Ty Lee's surprise, Appa went right up to him and hummed.

"What do you want?" the firebender demanded.

Appa rubbed his head against his shoulder.

At first Zuko took a step back, but then he thawed a bit and petted him.

They all climbed aboard and Ty Lee steered, pondering Appa's reaction. Was he warming up to the firebender so much that he'd let go and forget his own state to comfort him? Then something occurred to her.

"Maybe Appa thinks you know Aang's hurt, too," Ty Lee posited without considering how it sounded.

"_What?!_" exclaimed the other two simultaneously,

"Who came-" "What-" "after him?" "happened?"

"Oh no, it's not like that," she explained quickly, "Just, he and Toph are training really hard."

Both of the firebenders let out a breath of relief.

The bison and the shock must've shaken off some of Zuko's mood because when they touched down and she got to look again his aura had cleared somewhat.

Iroh prepared the tea silently, perhaps thinking about the lesson that had obviously gone badly.

Zuko's aura got progressively worse again as the process went on, which was also very odd indeed to Ty Lee, considering even the _smell_ of tea usually _soothed_ people.

"I'm not sure you should _want_ to shoot lighting, anyway, Zuko," she offered timidly. "_Her_ aura- _disappears_ when she does it."

"It does _what?_" Iroh said urgently.

"Is that not supposed to happen? It did feel off!"

"What does that mean?" Zuko asked warily.

Iroh stroked his beard. "I don't know." He shook his head. "Nothing good. Even more reason for us to watch her carefully. In any case, lightning _requires_ some form of inner stability. Resolution. You don't have that, Zuko, but it's nothing to be guilty about. You're still conflicted."

Zuko looked at him seriously with defeat tingeing his voice. "You don't think I'm too young?"

"You_ are_ well below the median age to learn it. But no. Ozai and I may have taken two and a half decades-" he leaned over to Ty Lee- "but as I've told him before, even though he never _believes_ me-" Zuko huffed. "your sister _and_ you _both_ have more starting talent than either of us. And Ty Lee here is not the only one who can sense things, nephew. Sometimes it takes a while for your heart to catch up with your head. Trust me. I only remastered my lightning a little over a year ago. It was tough after-" In an ordinary enough motion he switched his cup to his other hand, and blew on it. Though the timing in the sentence was off and blue discomfort and chest-centered emotion shone clearly to Ty Lee. "-after I was admitted to the Order." She also had a good idea what he had started to say, but instead he gave the example that more closely matched Zuko's current troubles, which was also true enough. "It took half of our seafaring before I consistently avoided exactly the difficulty you were experiencing today."

Zuko informed Ty Lee glumly, "It blew up in my face. Literally."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Well, I mean- if it takes peace, or resolution . . ." she trailed off. "Maybe I . . . You know, I thought about coming to visit you, Zuko, when I finally earned vacation time at the circus."

She paused, taking a sip of her tea. "I put it off, wondered if I could find you when you were moving so often, that sort of thing. And, I wasn't sure what I would _say_. I didn't know if you'd even want to talk. I made excuses. But- but I _wish_ I had gone and checked on you and apologized again for all the times we played pranks on you."

"Still not your fault. But thank you," he said gruffly, his face reddening a bit. "I don't know why you'd want to see me. I said some pretty nasty things to you before we left, too."

"I didn't hold it against you, though. You were upset," she pointed out gently.

"'Upset' doesn't even _begin_ to cover it," he said sarcastically. Ty Lee's face pinked in embarrassment this time. Then his tone changed back, "_I'm_ sorry to admit I didn't even know you weren't in the Capital until I met up with you again. I was- I was very single-minded then."

Ty Lee thought she saw Iroh in her periphery hide a smile behind his cup.

"But- but we_ were_ friends, weren't we Zuko?"

He didn't reply. He briefly made eye contact with her, then locked gazes with his uncle, who was now frowning slightly at him, whether in disapproval at his reluctance or in shared reminiscence she couldn't tell, then looked back down.

Finally, he said, "Half the time."

"Heh heh" she breathed, though it probably wasn't meant to be funny.

"Do you remember," she started warmly, "when we all used to-"

"Ty Lee," the old general interrupted sharply. "It won't do us any good to dwell on the past. In fact, I believe it's detrimental. You _do_ understand that- that you have to _focus_ on anything we need to do. That you must cut the ties you already _have_ in your _mind_ as well."

Zuko's face hardened.

"Yes sir," she replied in a tiny voice.

With that, they all drank. None of them felt like saying anything.

After a while, though, Iroh corrected, "But perhaps we can talk about the more _recent _past, hm? What were you up to after _you _left?"

"Oh! Okay, so when I first got to the circus, I asked to audition to be a contortionist, but they had a different spot open . . ."

_**A/N**_

"_**Don't **_**ever**_** tell her I said any of this!" –Book 3, Chapter 7: The Runaway**_

_**Toph does not mince words. She gets right to the point. Oh, and I got her to say "Twinkle-Queen" again. Yayz. :3**_

_**Next Chapter: Journeys and Travels. It'll be up soon, I promise. **_


End file.
